The Golden Watch: A Flareon's Misadventures
by Sunhat Leafeon
Summary: Bailey is a young flareon with no friends going through school. But as soon as he makes one, it's a catalyst for a journey of the likes he'd never expect.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes o' Amazingness**

 **Hello there my internet friends and family, I am Fluffx. And today we're going to be rewriting the first part of "The Golden Watch: A Flareon's Misadventures" by me. For those of you new to this story, welcome, and don't fret! For anyone coming back to reread my rewrite of the early story, thanks for being patient enough to give me the time of day. Now without further ado, let's begin.**

 **But wait! Before that,**

 _Italics_ **means someone is thinking!**

 **Also, thank you for the reviews TheLatiKing, Ashchu, and SparklingEspeon!**

* * *

It was five o'clock AM, early on a Tuesday morning. It was dark outside, the crickets were chirping, and it was the beginning of the new school year.

A particular flareon was lying in bed, enjoying the warmth and the dreams it brought. It was absolute bliss for any teenager in middle school. But said bliss was soon interrupted, however, as the alarm clock's loud beeps replaced it with frustration and anxiety.

The flareon angrily slammed his paw onto the snooze button, reluctantly dragging himself out of bed. The brooding fire type dragged himself into the bathroom, brushing his fur in an attempt to look somewhat presentable.

As he trudged down the stairs with a fake grin plastered on his face, the young flareon's bad mood was not lost on his mother.

"Hey, good morning honey!" The leafeon lept from her perch on the edge of the couch; the battle tournament on the television had been momentarily forgotten.

"Hey, mom."

The boy wandered over to his mother and gave her a warm hug; made warmer by him being a fire type of course.

"Oh, Bailey… Try to have a good year this time, okay? Please make some friends."

"I'll try, mom."

The leafeon smiled and began to gently comb her son's large mane. Bailey was a bit embarrassed.

"Mom, it looks fine!"

The leafeon had sighed and backed off a bit downcast.

"Okay," Her joyous smile was soon brought back, "I packed you breakfast and lunch. Make sure to eat, okay?"

Bailey nodded, and give his mother a quick nuzzle.

"I will, mom. I'm gonna head off now."

"Okay, honey. Have a good day!"

The flareon's fake smile fell as soon as he turned away. He grunted in acknowledgment of his mother's wishes and started out the door.

* * *

It was a long walk. Two hours, to be precise. When Bailey finally burst through the doors of the school he was already dead tired from the walk. Only getting an hour of sleep had played a part in this too, but mostly the walk.

The flareon checked his schedule, sleepily stumbling into his first-period classroom.

With a yawn, Bailey slumped down into an empty seat, burying his face in his forelegs. Bailey had felt a soft poking at his side not twenty minutes later. He swatted away the offending paw, looking up with a glare that could pierce steel.

"What?" he snapped, glaring at the student next to him.

The sylveon in question flinched back at the harsh response.

"I uh…" the fairy type cleared his throat, "I was just wondering why you were sleeping in class…"

Bailey gave an annoyed side glance.

"Because I'm tired."

The flareon once more buried his face in his forelegs, severing the conversation before it began.

...Or so he thought.

"What's your name?"

Bailey groaned in irritation at the question; he shot his head up and glared at the sylveon next to him.

The aforementioned sylveon flinched. It whined sadly and looked down at its desk.

"Bailey."

The sylveon's ears perked up, and it glanced back in the fire type's direction.

"What?"

"My name is _Bailey_."

A smile slid onto the sylveon's features. Bailey slipped his nametag onto his chest, hoping to not have a future repeat of this situation.

"Howdy-do there, Bailey! I'm Candy."

The corner of Bailey's mouth twitched for a second, but he otherwise kept a blank expression. The awkward silence hung for a few minutes until a raichu walked into the room. That raichu being their algebra teacher, Mr. McCheesey.

The rat simply sat in his chair and sipped his coffee while he waited for class to start. Bailey's eyes squinted slightly at McCheesey.

"Hey… I had him a few years ago," Bailey mumbled.

"Did you?"

Bailey's head snapped back in Candy's direction.

Candy flinched back slightly but still kept his smile.

"You uh… I take it you didn't mean to say that aloud?"

* * *

Candy hadn't talked much the rest of the period. Not wanting to upset his new grumpy friend, all he gave was a quick goodbye as he left for the second period.

As the young boy wandered during hall pass, he couldn't help but smile brightly. While Candy loved making friends, he didn't have many for some reason. But Bailey seemed nice enough; he at least wouldn't outright ignore the sylveon. Maybe they'd hit it off?

Candy bounced to his second period, which happened to be general science.

He dove into a random seat and smiled brightly, waiting for everyone to arrive and the class to begin.

A familiar fennekin walked up and sat down in the desk in front of his.

"Oh, hey Scarlett!" Candy greeted.

"Hello, Candy." The fennekin let out a small yawn.

"I was scared I wouldn't have any classes with you this year." Candy put his paws on his desk and leaned over into Scarlett's face.

Scarlett gave a small smile.

"It's sweet of you to care so much."

Candy flashed a bright, toothy grin of his own.

"Of course I care about you, Scarlett. You're my best friend!"

As more students trickled in, the long time friends began to chat away until class started.

Candy smiled to himself. " _Maybe this year won't be so bad after all."_

* * *

It was the end of fifth period, and that meant it was time for B Lunch. That also happened to be the lunch that Candy had. As the fairy walked in, he scanned the room for Scarlett to no avail. After he finished, however, he noticed Bailey sitting alone in a corner.

Bailey's head was on his school issued laptop typing away when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Bailey!"

He looked up and saw Candy. The now slightly more awake flareon waved.

"Candy, Hey."

Candy pounced into a chair and rested his upper body on the table, his slight chubbiness causing it to bend slightly under the weight.

Bailey pulled out his bagged lunch and took out the sandwich his mother packed. He cheerfully began to eat.

"So Bailey," Candy started, "you seem like you're in a far better mood."

Bailey smiled softly. "Yeah! Sorry about earlier. I just didn't have much sleep."

"And you do now?" Candy raised an eyebrow.

The flareon's ears flattened a bit.

"Second-period teacher wasn't paying much attention."

Candy booped his friend's nose, who scrunched and pulled back.

"Sleeping in class again?"

Bailey nodded.

Soon after, Candy went to the lunch line to retrieve his lunch and pranced back carrying his tray of pizza and mashed potatoes.

Bailey glanced back up from his laptop to see the sylveon chowing down on his potatoes, and moaning in delight.

"You enjoying those, buddy?"

Candy lifted his face from the tray, staring at his fire type companion with his mouth still hanging open slightly. A bit of potato fell off his cheek and back down.

"Buddy?! You do wanna be friends! I knew it!"

Bailey shook his head, smiling in amusement. He drew attention back to his laptop. He zoned out, the click-clack of his paws against the keys lulling him into a trance.

This continued for a while before a question popped into Bailey's mind.

"Hey. I know I just met you and all, but you wanna come over to my place later?"

Candy's eyes lit up in delight.

"Would I?!" The sylveon hopped over the table and tackled the flareon into a hug.

Quite a few pokémon noticed and glanced in their direction, including a certain fennekin that had just walked into the room. A very jealous fennekin. Scarlett silently fumed, backing out of the room.

* * *

'Warlock the Mighty' sat in the bathroom. Well, their name was actually Matthew, but in their opinion 'Warlock the Mighty' was better.

'Warlock' cleared their throat.

A shadow was approaching from around the corner. This was a golden opportunity to make some sales!

A flareon walked in and seemed slightly surprised to see a black-cloaked eevee sitting in the middle of the floor with a bag.

"Ah, Bailey. I foresaw your arrival." 'Warlock' stated matter of factly, as they glanced up from Bailey's chest.

Bailey gasped. "Woah, how did you know my name?"

'Warlock' smiled confidently, though it didn't matter due to the shadows from their hood.

"I am Warlock the Mighty! Saviour of lands, inventor of gadgets, and legendary merchant of the boy's bathroom!" The eevee sat proudly, beaming at the flareon.

"Uh… Okay!"

"So, you gonna buy something? I accept payment in marbles."

Bailey tapped his paw lightly for a bit.

"I don't have any marbles. Is cash fine?"

'Warlock' sighed. Having to _buy_ the marbles is an extra step, but they supposed marking up the prices a bit would cover for it. They wouldn't tell Bailey about this, of course.

"Yes, I suppose it is."

Bailey smiled brightly.

"Great!"

'Warlock' dumped their bag of stuff onto the floor.

Not too much interested Bailey. There was a GBA cartridge, a golden statue of some weird thing, an action figure and…

"Hey, what's in that box?" Bailey pointed at the small, simple chest with a paw.

'Warlock' glanced down at it.

"Oh, that? That is the Box of Mystery. It has been locked for five-thousand years, and can only be opened by a courageous soul…"

Bailey's face lit up.

"Really?"

"No. I just found it a while ago, has a watch with it. Nothing special, 20₽."

Bailey forked over the requested cash and clicked open the box. The watch was made of gold, with various interesting designs etched into it. He slipped it over his paw and slid the buckle into place.

"Hey! Thanks, Warlock!"

"No problem."

Not long after, a sawk walked in and looked surprised.

"Matthew, what are you doing in here?" The sawk questioned.

'Warlock' suddenly looked nervous.

"Ahahah. See you later Bailey, I gotta go!" The eevee ran off before the sawk could ask anymore questions.

Bailey just sat there slightly stunned.

"Yeah, that's Matthew for ya'." The sawk laughed slightly. "I'm Dan, nice to meet you!"

Bailey nodded and shook the sawk's hand.

"I'm Bailey, nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure! Though, you're wearing your name tag so the introduction wasn't necessary."

Bailey glanced down. "Oh." But then, it hit him. he glanced out in the direction Matthew had ran. " _Oooooh._ "

* * *

The peaceful leafeon was curled up with her sleeping son on the couch watching television when a knock came at the door. She hopped up and walked over.

She opened the door to see a sylveon. This must have been the new friend Bailey was talking about.

"Uhm… Hi!" Candy greeted, sporting a cheerful yet somewhat timid smile.

"Hello there!" The leafeon spoke in return. "I'm Joy, Bailey's mom. Who might you be?"

The sylveon's smile grew brighter.

"I'm Candy! Pleasured to meet you!"

Joy giggled slightly.

" _How polite."_

Joy stepped aside, a silent invitation. Candy accepted, of course, prancing in and jumping into the sleeping flareon's arms.

"Gah! Wh- Candy?"

"Hi, Bailey!"

Bailey forced a smile, as Candy forced a hug.

"Glad you could make it," Bailey said, patting the sylveon's back lightly.

"I'm glad I could too!"

They silently stared into each other's eyes for an awkward moment, before Bailey sprang an idea.

"Hey, wanna go have a battle in my room? It'd be a fun way to get to know each other."

"Really?!" Candy's face lit up. "I'd love to!"

Bailey nodded and hopped off the couch to lead his friend upstairs and into his room.

Joy smiled and shook her head.

"Boys will be boys, eh Jaunty?"

The umbreon who had been attempting to sneak up on his wife stiffened, startled by being addressed directly.

"I uhm- yeah!"

Joy spun on her paws, pulling the umbreon into a warm hug, who gladly returned it. The two shared a small kiss with each other, before they reluctantly broke their embrace.

"I picked up stuff for dinner," Jaunty stated with a beam.

"Sloppy joes as planned?"

"Yep!"

The leafeon shared one last quick hug with her husband before the two set off into the kitchen to work.

* * *

Candy squealed a bit as the ember scorched his shoulder. The sylveon rolled to the side as Bailey lunged for him, and then retaliated with a tackle.

Bailey kicked up a sand attack in his assailant's face, but Candy stood his ground and pummeled the flareon with a shadow ball.

While Bailey was a bit stunned from the unexpected move, the fairy type took the opportunity to slam an iron tail attack into his friend, crushing him into a wall and ending the quick spar.

Candy sat there sweating and huffing. After a minute, he crept over to his flareon companion to make sure he's okay.

Bailey swatted at him with a paw but otherwise accepted defeat.

"Good fight, Candy," he wheezed, accepting the paw that was offered to help him up.

"Yeah, I had fun!"

Bailey padded over to his bed and hopped in to rest for a bit. Candy soon followed, cuddling against the flareon's side.

Oblivious to the physical contact, Bailey whipped out his remote and flipped on his television. He threw on a documentary about everstones and zoned out watching it with his pink and white companion.

* * *

Jarard was waiting on the bench outside of school for his mother to come pick him up. Which she hasn't yet, by the way.

The young eevee tapped his paws on the ground lightly as he waited, when suddenly a familiar figure approached. Not his mom, but a jolteon.

"Big sis'!"

Jarard pranced up and pounced into the jolteon's arms.

"Woah! Hey there, kiddo. I missed you too." The jolteon flashed a cheeky grin and hugged her younger sibling warmly.

The eevee nuzzled into his sister's fluffy chest.

"I missed you, sis'!"

"I missed you too!" the jolteon said once more, "Now come on, we gotta get home before dark."

"Okay!"

The jolteon slung the much slimmer eevee onto her back, and started a quick— but not too quick —sprint towards their home.

Once they had arrived a few minutes later, the electric type knocked on the door.

Joy opened the door not a moment later and smiled at both her eldest and youngest children.

"Skylar, welcome back home! And hello there, my little prince!" The leafeon nuzzled both of her children, who each returned it.

Jarard hopped up and darted to his room with only one parting call.

"Bye momma, bye sis'!"

Joy stepped aside for the second time this evening, this time inviting in the more familiar face of her eldest child.

"Come in, make yourself comfortable. Jarard and Bailey have been looking forward to your visit all month! Of course, your father and I have been too."

Skylar smiled and nuzzled her mother once more.

"Missed you too! I'm glad to be back, even if it's only for the week."

"And we're glad to have you!" Jaunty announced abruptly, dropping from the top of the doorway.

Joy shrieked slightly, startled by his sudden appearance. Skylar's pupils briefly shrank, but she otherwise just smiled at her father's antics.

"Hey, dad! Missed you." She gave her father a warm hug, who returned it fully.

Soon Skylar parted and walked up the stairs. Just one more family member to reunite with. The electric type pushed open the specific door, ready to see her other younger brother.

* * *

Bailey's trance was broken by his door abruptly opening. His and Candy's eyes swung towards the doorway to see who it was.

"Hey, bro. I'm- oh?" Skylar was briefly surprised but put on an expression of mock-shock. "You didn't tell me you had a _girlfriend_!"

Bailey and Candy both blushed in embarrassment.

"H-hey! I'm not a girl!" Candy complained.

Skylar further exaggerated her expression, gasping and taking a step back. She put a paw to her chest and stared in awe.

"Bailey! You didn't tell me you swung that way!"

Bailey's face reddened further. He huffed, and his ears splayed back.

"I'm not gay, either! And Candy here is just my friend."

Skylar decided to drop the act and just smiled warmly.

"I know, little bro. Just teasing." She walked over and gave her brother a pat on the head. "Missed you, bro."

Bailey just sighed and decided to let it go. He gave his sister a warm hug.

"Missed you too, Sky."

* * *

By the time everyone got to the dinner table, the smiles and laughs became very contagious as they shared stories, and Candy got to know everyone.

"-and then she refused to make anything with bread in it anymore!" Everyone at the table laughed at Skylar's hilarious story.

Bailey grabbed one of his uneaten 'joes and shot a look to his younger brother.

"20₽ says I can finish one faster than you."

Jarard grabbed one of his own and glared back.

"Double or nothing!"

The two chowed down quick as they could, everyone else watching with mixed expressions as their faces got super messy. It ended in a tie.

Joy and Candy were struck with horror, as Skylar and Jaunty couldn't hold back their laughter.

Once it got late, Candy decided it was probably best to head home.

"I'mma go everyone. I enjoyed my time! And thanks for inviting me, Bailey."

Everyone smiled and said their goodbyes. Bailey embraced Candy in a warm hug, who gave him a nuzzle in response.

Bailey blushed slightly, but it wasn't easily visible under his bright fiery coat.

As Candy started on the path home, a bright beam crept onto his face.

" _I'm glad everyone was nice, I was kind of concerned they wouldn't be! Scarlett would probably love to meet them."_

* * *

Proceeding an hour-long walk, Candy finally trudged through the kitchen door and into his house.

"Momy, I'm back home!"

…

No answer. Figures, she's usually asleep by now.

Candy noticed a small drink prepared on the counter, with a note attached. He padded over and peered at the note curiously.

" _Welcome back home, son! I'm sorry I couldn't be awake to greet you, work was super stressful today and I felt really tired after you left for your friend's house. I made you an oran smoothie! ~love, mom."_

The sylveon smiled and sipped at the drink.

"Thanks, mommy..." he muttered to himself, enjoying the sweet treat.

* * *

Matthew flopped lazily into their small bed. As per usual, the whole "Warlock the Mighty" charade fell apart.

" _I should probably stop trying to act like my 'Dungeons and Dragonites' characters…"_

The young eevee smiled and giggled at themselves.

" _Ugh… I'm so bored."_ And, there went their good mood. " _If only I had someone to talk to…"_

But then, an idea hit them. They DID have someone to talk to!

Matthew grabbed their telephone and pulled up a specific social media site, and began searching for the new name they had learned.

"Ahah! Just as I presumed!"

Matthew waited through the dial tone before someone finally picked up.

"Ugh… Who is this? It's 4:00 AM in the morning! I have school in a few hours!" came the slightly distorted, but still recognizable voice of Bailey.

"Hey! It's Matt."

"Wh- Matt? As in, 'Warlock' Matt?"

"Yeah, that's me!"

An irritated sigh came from the other end of the line.. "How'd you find my number…?"

"You had it on your profile. Your P-Pal profile."

A groan was given in response. "Whatever. Just let me sleep. Why would you even call this early? Fu-"

"Wanna hang out this weekend?"

"What? Did you seriously call me, AT FOUR IN THE MORNING, just to ask to hang out?"

"Mhm!"

Another sigh. "Yeah. We'll discuss the details at school."

"That's gr-"

"Bye."

Click!

Matt sighed. Hung up on again. At least he agreed to hang out, though.

* * *

The next day after school, Scarlett was relaxing on her very large bed, when her mother called for her.

" _Scarlett_ , that unfortunate sylveon you call a 'friend' is here to speak with you."

"Let him in please, mother."

A few moments later, Candy burst through her large oak door as predicted.

"Hi, Scarlett!"

"Greetings, Candy."

Candy hopped up onto the large bed and embraced the fennekin in a tight hug.

"Wanna hang out this weekend?"

Scarlett blinked. "This weekend?" She started to smile slightly, as it had been a while since she'd last hung out with her closest friend.

"Yeah! It'll be me, Matthew, and Bai-"

"No."

Candy blinked.

"What?"

"I said no! Get out!"

Candy pouted and looked down. He turned away and began to leave.

"Okay… Goodbye, Scarlett."

As soon as she was sure the sylveon had left the house, Scarlett huffed indignantly.

" _That no-good flareon is trying to steal MY friend. I will not tolerate this."_

She grinned and pulled out a pen and paper. The young fennekin began scheming.

* * *

Finally, the weekend had arrived, and the trio of friends met up in the town center to hang out. It was Sunday, to be specific.

"So, I heard there's a new restaurant in town! It's called 'The Café'!" Bailey exclaimed, excited at the prospect of food.

"Oh yeah, I heard of that place. Why's it called that though? It isn't even a café," Candy replied.

"Perhaps an attempt to gain business from a demographic who normally wouldn't care," Matthew remarked.

Everyone just shrugged. They silently agreed to go to the restaurant, and all traveled in that direction.

When they arrived, they sat themselves.

" _Why_ are we sitting _outside_?" Bailey complained. In all honesty, he didn't enjoy the outside very much.

"You need some sun, Bailey! Your fur is darkening."

Mattew shrugged.

"Hey, I don't like the outside either, but food is food."

The waiter, a raticate, arrived to take their orders.

Bailey, Candy, and Matthew ordered a burger and fries, a salad, and a box of onion rings respectively.

* * *

After they finished their food, the waiter looked expectantly at Matthew and Bailey.

"I assume one of you two are paying?"

Bailey cocked an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

The raticate shrugged his shoulders. "In my experience, it's usually the males who pay for the food."

Matthew slammed their paws on the table in a small bit of anger.

"Do I look like a male to you?!" Matthew complained. After a second, they managed to calm down. "Okay okay, I'm sorry. It's a common mistake, I should be used to it."

Bailey, Candy, and the waiter all looked slightly stunned at the outburst.

"I'll be honest with you Matt, I couldn't tell," Bailey said honestly.

Candy just smiled reassuringly, and the waiter recomposed himself.

"Well, that doesn't answer who's paying." The raticate stated simply.

Bailey brightened up a bit. "We'll split it, all three."

And so they did. They all left the restaurant, Bailey and Candy now aware of Matthew's femininity, and the waiter never having been corrected about Candy being a male.

"That was an awkward experience." Candy commented.

"Good food though!" Matthew was munching away on Candy's remaining fries, having finished her onion rings.

"Yeah, I-" Bailey was cut off by a cloaked figure running straight into him. As he fell to the ground he felt his anger start to rise. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" He shouted, though the figure was no longer anywhere in sight.

Candy and Matthew rushed over to help him up, but then Candy felt something missing on his wrist.

"Hey, Bailey? Didn't you used to have a watch here?"

"Yeah, I…" Then it hit him. The watch was gone! Bailey shouted in rage and took off in the direction of the unknown assailant.

After the trio searched for a bit, they decided it would be a fruitless effort right now. If they had stolen the watch, it wouldn't be too far fetched to think the attacker was hiding out far from where they were.

Everyone sighed.

"Next weekend, everyone comes to my house. We'll organize a search there." Candy said.

No one objected.

They all decided to head home, for now, their day ruined by the theft of Bailey's watch.

Bailey hung his head low and scolded himself.

" _I really need to be more careful with my things…"_

* * *

The painful wait for the next weekend had finally ended. Bailey was at Candy's doorstep for the very first time, blowing small embers to help calm his nerves. Eventually, he gathered the courage to knock.

An eevee answered the door.

"Hello?" The eevee looked up at the flareon in front of her. "Oh, you must be Bailey! I'm August, Candy's mom. Nice to meet you!"

Bailey nodded to her. "Nice to meet you, too."

She allowed Bailey inside, who quickly ran up to what he assumed was Candy's room. You know, since it had the word "Candy" carved into the door.

He opened the door and saw Candy sniffling at the windowsill.

"Candy? Are y-"

"I'm fine!" The sylveon wiped the tears from his eyes and took a minute to calm down. He smiled and walked over to hug his friend. Bailey gladly returned it.

Moments later, Matthew arrived.

"Guys! I've studied the box, and it has a sort of compass on it!"

"What?"

Matthew cleared her throat. "The box the watch was in. I swiped it off Bailey's nightstand while he was sleeping so I could study it. The bottom of it has a sort of compass that points in a consistent direction.

"But get this, it isn't pointing north! If my theory is correct, it's pointing towards the watch, which means it's in there!" The small eevee panted from the long-winded explanation, pointing towards the treeline at the edge of the property.

"But… That's the Cut stone Woods!" Candy shrieked. "It's dangerous in there!"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. I heard stories of a pokémon that went in there a few years ago, and never came out."

Matthew rolled her eyes.

"Come on guys, it'll be fine!"

"B-but! I don't wanna go…!" Candy complained.

Bailey nodded.

"Yeah, we might just wanna forget the watch."

Matthew shook her head.

"No, guys! We have to go get it! I don't wanna have to refund Bailey."

"Uh… It's fine, you can keep the mon-"

"No, I insist! We're going." With that, Matt leaped out the window.

"Matthew, wait!" Bailey trailed behind.

Candy sighed. He gathered his nerves and lept out as well.

By the time they caught up to Matthew, they were behind the treeline and inside Cutstone.

"Matthew, no! This is suicide!" Candy shouted.

"Come on, it'll be fine! You aren't afraid of the dark, are you?"

Candy was about to protest, but Bailey put a paw on his back.

"Fine! But we're heading back at the first sign of trouble." It wasn't a suggestion, it was a fact.

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

Candy sighed in defeat and trailed behind his friends as they wandered through the woods, hiding behind Bailey's large protective figure.

The three walked in tense silence. No one dared speak. The only sounds were of crickets, the occasional rustle of leaves, and that one time Bailey grunted from tripping over a tree stump a few dozen yards back.

After twenty minutes, the gang was nearing the location the compass pointed to, evident by it's rapid vibrating.

The air grew tense.

A tree stump came into view, with an object faintly catching a glimmer of the soft moonlight.

Matt was the first to approach, with the other two looking around. One neutral, the other slightly uneasy.

The eevee gently scooped up the watch in one paw and turned back to her friends.

"See, guys? Nothing to worry about."

* * *

Joy and Jaunty were snuggling on the couch in their living room watching a sports program on television. Nothing too exciting. Joy had just finished bathing, and was ready to go to sleep with her husband when suddenly the phone rang.

Joy stretched and sighed.

"Golly. Who would be calling at this time a night?" She rubbed one eye with a paw.

"No clue. Maybe it's the phone monster! Oooooo!"

Joy just rolled her eyes and glanced at the caller ID, before picking up the phone.

"Hel-"

"Joy! I-I went to check on them- I followed their prints and… And…-"

"August! Calm down. Deep breaths," Joy soothed gently. A few sniffles and sighs came from the other line. "Slow down, and tell me everything that happened."

Joy glanced over to the couch and into Jaunty's concerned gaze.

"W-well… I went up to make sure the kids were in bed, but they weren't there! The window was open, and when I looked out I saw their p-paw prints leading into the woods…"

The leafeon mother dropped the phone in shock. After a second she hung up the phone and looked over to her husband with a determined look.

"Come on Jaunty. We're saving the kids. I'll explain on the way."

The aforementioned umbreon nodded and followed is spouse. They grabbed a sleeping Jarared so he wouldn't have to wake in an empty house, and ran out the door.

* * *

Skylar was relaxing in her house. She had gone back home the previous weekend and hadn't seen her family since. It was a warm, autumn night. Not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to make the electric type sweat. At least, after her nightly workout. Yes, this sweating was very much intentional.

The jolteon sat there panting, letting the sweat drops fall from her canine tongue. She checked her stopwatch. She'd managed to accelerate faster than last time, and maintain the pace longer.

Her treadmill was on fire, but that wasn't an issue. Her roommate would be arriving soon and would probably help fix it. Probably. Speaking of her roommate, here she comes right now!

As the oshawott walked through the door, she deadpanned at Sky.

"Really? Two in one week?"

Skylar gave the best puppy dog eyes she could manage.

"No. I'm tired from work, I'm dehydrating, and I have a killer headache. Put it out yourself, there's a tap in the kitchen."

The jolteon sighed but relented. She walked towards the kitchen as her roommate trudged upstairs.

"G'night Audrey!" Sky hollered.

"Night, Sky."

The electric type returned to the living room and dunked her treadmill with water.

 _"Great. Burned, and drenched in one night. Looks like it's time for a new one again."_

Sky's eyes were drawn to the window, as she saw a strange sight.

 _"Huh. Could've sworn I just saw my parents run by."_

Curiosity peaked, the jolteon snuck out of the apartment and hurriedly trailed the rapidly vanishing figures in the distance.

* * *

As Bailey slipped the watch on, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I guess you were right Matt. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Candy rolled his eyes, a bit frustrated. "We still have to find our way out of here geniuses," he gestured around with a pink paw, "I don't know about you guys, but with all this going on I didn't keep track of which way we came."

A hooded figure ran past, but Matthew was the only one who noticed.

"Hey! It's the guy who took the watch!"

Candy and Bailey looked in the direction the hooded figure had ran but saw nothing.

Suddenly, they heard growling.

"Uh… Guys?" She squeaked out pitifully.

The young pokémon snapped their heads around. The group hollered in fear and huddled together as the large pokemon loomed over them, with ill intent clear in its eyes. Bailey spat a weak flame in its face.

With a roar, it bent over and prepared to lunge. As it did, however, a large shadow ball crunched against its skull with a sickening noise. A thunder wave crackled towards it, and its muscles twitched and stiffened up.

The three pokémon turned their head in the direction it came from, and saw bright glowing yellow rings, with piercing red eyes. Next to them were deep purple eyes, just barely illuminated by the moonlight.

"Come on, kids! I didn't knock it down for good!" Jaunty called to the group.

Sure enough, the mightyena started to shift and open its eyes. Bailey, Candy, and Matthew all ran up to Jaunty and Skylar. The group of five bolted down through the woods at impressive speeds. More mightyena started tailing them.

"Split up!" Jaunty demanded. He halted and turned on the mightyena, peppering them with various special attacks to hold them off.

Candy continued straight ahead at increased speed. Matt followed him for a short while but soon took a sharp left. Sky picked up her younger brother and sped up greatly as she veered to the right.

Bailey held onto his older sister for dear life. He squoze his eyes shut, and buried his snout in her spiky, yet soft mane. It was slightly comforting.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Sky skidded to a stop in a small clearing. She let her slightly smaller passenger down and glanced up into the sky.

The creeping rays of the rising sun painted the sky orange and violet. The sun wasn't visible yet, but everything was bathed in a soft orange glow.

Bailey was snoring softly on the ground.

 _"Poor little guy. Must be worn out."_

Skylar wandered off slightly beyond the clearing. She spotted a leppa berry bush close to a stream. She plucked some and walked back out to her brother.

The jolteon mindlessly snacked on some for a time. She left a few for the flareon beside her, of course.

By the time she finished her small little meal, it had already become morning. She wiped the berry's juices from her lips and jostled the younger eeveelution awake.

The flareon woke slowly. He saw his sister's face and some berries. He slowly began to sit up and eat them. He looked at his paw and sighed.

"Looks like the watch is gone again…" He glanced towards the treeline behind him.

"Is that what this is all about?"

"Mhm…"

"You can explain later. Eat up, we need to regroup with the others or find a way out. Preferably both."

"All right."

After Bailey finished, the two set off in a random direction.

As the pair walked, Sky decided to bring up the topic again.

"So. About that watch."

Bailey glanced to his side and into his sister's eyes, before beginning to summarize the events of the last few days.

"Well... Candy, Matt, and I were walking through town. Some guy nicked the watch off me, and we couldn't find them. We decided to have the sleepover to come up with a plan. Matt managed to track it down, she insisted we went and retrieved it, and that's when you guys showed up."

The jolteon simply nodded in understanding. The flareon seemed like he was about to fall asleep again, so the jolteon scooped him onto her back. Sure enough, he was out in minutes.

* * *

Candy burst from the treeline. He sat there a moment, panting heavily. He looked up and thankfully saw his house. The sylveon ran up to the door and burst through. His mom looked miserable on the couch, being comforted by Joy and Jarared. When she saw her son, her face instantly brightened.

"Mommy!"

"Son!"

The two ran to each other and leaped into a hug.

Jarared and Joy walked up. The leafeon happy yet concerned, and the eevee confused.

"Candy? Where's big bro? And sis? And dad?"

Candy looked down dejectedly and sighed.

"I'm not sure where the others are. Mr. Jaunty stayed behind to fend off some mightyena, and the others split up."

Joy visibly saddened and hugged her scared son. Candy mouthed an apology.

"That's quite all right dear. It's not your fault." Joy put on a warm smile and pulled Candy and August into the hug with her. "If I know my husband and daughter, they'll be fine. I'm sure one of them is with Bailey, and little Matthew will make it back too."

Everyone was a little happier, hope having been restored.

* * *

Matthew was perched atop a tree, bathing in the sun. Everything felt right.

She enjoyed the sun's rays, as she had done every day for years. It had always ignited a strange itch in the back of her mind. One she could never quite scratch. But now the itch was worse than ever.

She was starting to have a hard time enjoying the sun now. Every second seemed to intensify the itch- No. The burning within' her skull. At the moment she felt like her head would burst, it stopped burning.

It turned into a more invigorating feel than before. It spread throughout the young pokemon's body.

The sun. It was so warm. It made everything more clear. Matthew was aware of everything nearby. The way the wind moved, what pokémon were moving where, and each and every rustle of a leaf.

The energy intensified in her tail. It slowly grew thinner and split at the end. Her body grow larger, yet sleeker. The mane around her neck seemed to vanish.

Matthew's eyes snapped open. She snapped out of her sunbathing, but her heightened sense of awareness didn't cease like it usually did. She looked at her body, her paws, and her tail.

Matt jumped down from the tree she was in, smiling like a little kid.

Matthew had evolved into an espeon.

* * *

Jaunty was tired and in pain. He had been fighting well into the morning now, but more foes still kept coming. There were only a few more of the pack of mightyena left, but he knew he wouldn't last until the end. He'd managed to take out most of them on his own, but he wasn't strong enough to take them all.

As the tired umbreon was backed up against a tree, he saw something unexpected but welcomed.

One mightyena glowed purple and was slammed into the other. Jaunty looked beyond, to see a young espeon standing behind them.

"Mr. Jaunty, come on!" Matt urged. "I only caught them off guard, we need to run!"

Jaunty nodded but failed to stand back up. The last thing he felt before blacking out was a telekinetic aura holding him, and floating him along with its controller.


	2. Chapter 2

Important Author's Notes

Hey, welcome back everyone! A few things before we begin. First, I'm rewriting chapters one through seven into one prologue. So once next chapter is posted, that's how you'll know that I finished rewriting the previous bunch. I'm doing these rewrites for a few reasons.

1: They are not comparable enough to my current skills.

2: I didn't expand or explain all I wanted to initially.

3: I have a better grasp of the direction I want to take the story in now.

Story time now!

* * *

It was about mid-day when Jaunty finally came to. He looked around, eventually letting his eyes fall onto an espeon nearby. Curious, he began to creep over.

The espeon's eyes soon fell closed. Jaunty tried calling out, but it was no use. His psychic companion was fast asleep. He sniffed at the espeon a bit, puzzled by the familiar scent.

 _"I've encountered you before, strange espeon. But who might you be?"_

With a shrug, Jaunty looked around before scooping the espeon onto his back. He stretched and flexed away the kinks in his still sore muscles, before beginning towards his destination. Said destination being… Where, exactly?

Well, the same direction the paw prints were going may be a good idea.

He decided to stop the questioning, as there were no apparent answers.

Jaunty grabbed a berry from a nearby bush as he walked, beginning to munch on it thoughtfully.

The strange espeon did spark a few questions, though none he could quite answer. One question did seem more important at the moment, though.

 _"Do I try to find the others, or find my way out?"_

After a bit more thought, he decided on the latter. While he was a bit worried, the umbreon trusted that they could handle themselves. The woods were far less dangerous during the day.

* * *

"Hey, watch out!"

Bailey turned his head sharply.

"Huh?"

Skylar snickered a bit.

"You're too easy." She said, reigning in control of her mild laughter.

The young flareon puffed up his cheeks.

"Sis, don't do that!"

Sky just pulled him into a hug.

"Don't be such a downer!" She brushed off his request with a peck on the forehead.

As the two broke apart, Skylar's sensitive ears picked up on something in the distance… Voices…?

She quickly scooped up the fire type once more, and took off running in the general direction.

"Hey!" Bailey cried, "Warn me next time..."

"No can do, little bro."

"Hmph."

As the jolteon pumped her strong legs, her thoughts drifted to the flareon on her back.

It was a bit awkward carrying him now, since he's about as big as her. That's no problem though, as the electric type was the strongest and fastest in town. Though, she supposed that's part of the problem.

Was being the best really worth it when you miss out on time with your family?

Since she's moved out and spent most of her time training, Skylar had rarely gotten to spend time with her brother.

Sure, she enjoyed training, and there was also her roommate Audrey. But even so, being able to see and talk to her family was what she enjoyed most.

The speedy electric type was beginning to tear up and lose herself in thought, and before she knew it there was shouting. But, not just from her brother.

The crowd of pokémon she was running towards clambered out of the way, and she quickly dug her paws into the ground in an attempt to break.

Most of the effort was fruitless, however, as she tumbled into a few pedestrians was soon barrelling towards a brick wall. Bailey thought fast, and leaped from his sister's back.

Crash! All Skylar saw for minutes, or maybe even hours, was darkness and stars.

When she finally regained some semblance of consciousness, her eyes fluttered open to the sight of a familiar flareon. Bailey helped his sister up, who glanced around.

There was an oshawott and fennekin lying on the ground nearby, presumably the ones she ran into. As soon as the fennekin was up, she shouted in Sky's face.

"Watch where you're going, pincushion!" The fire type quickly turned and flicked their tail into Sky's face, before storming off with their nose held high.

Bailey padded up next to his sister and squinted.

"Hey, I think I know her from somewhere..."

Soon, the two were startled by yet another angry voice shouting at them.

"Skylar! How many more times do I have to tell you not to zone out when you're running before it gets through that thick skull of yours?!"

Skylar flashed a grin.

"Nice to see you too, Audrey."

The oshawott's face suddenly morphed into one of realization.

"Hey actually, I was looking for you! I got kind of concerned when you weren't here this morning..."

The two roommates embraced tightly.

"Ah, don't worry about me. I was just getting my bro here out of trouble!"

The oshawott glanced over.

"Ah, hey there Bailey."

Bailey waved sheepishly, his ears flattened back slightly.

An idea struck the joleton's head, like a malette to a nail.

"Hey! Since we're all here together now, why don't we stop at The Café?"

Audrey simply shrugged, and Bailey nodded vigorously.

"Neutrality is a yes, Aud'. Let's go, everyone!"

* * *

Thunk…

Thunk…

Thunk…

Candy whined miserably as his head made forceful contact with the wall. Repeatedly. This all changed, however, when he misjudged the distance and smacked his nose straight in.

The sylveon let out a cry of pain as his small snout crunched against the wall, the resolve of the hard wooden boards never faltering...

The boy teared up and covered his sensitive nose, which leaked blood onto his large pink paws. Any other day he'd grab a tissue, but the effort seemed pointless now. He simply opted to wipe it on his foreleg.

The fairy glanced into the nearby window he was sulking at but 20 minutes ago, and sighed at his faint reflection.

"Look at yourself, Candy…" the boy lamented, "How would dad feel if he saw you like this? Weak, and void of all hope?"

Candy turned away from the window, and lowered his head with a sigh. He wiped away his tears and clenched his paws.

Candy squinted his eyes, the painful memory of the final moments with his father finally resurfacing after years of dormancy.

* * *

 _"Daddy, please! You don't have to do this, we don't have to leave you!"_

 _The young eevee cried into the older umbreon's shoulder, never wanting to leave the warm and caring embrace._

 _"I'm sorry… You have to go, none of us will escape unless someone holds them off."_

 _"But why you?! I can stay! I can save you!" The teary eyed cub tried to reason._

 _"No. You're too young. You mean the world to me, and your mother…"_

 _The eevee only cried harder, as the growls and snarls grew closer._

 _"I don't wanna go! Please! It's my fault for going into the woods!"_

 _The umbreon simply shook his head. "You're young, and prone to mistakes. You deserve a second chance." The dark type almost teared up himself, but managed to hold it in. He was afraid, but he couldn't show fear. Not now."Be strong, Candy… Be brave… For yourself, for your friends, and for our family… I love you, my dear son."_

 _"I love you too…"_

 _Candy shared one last embrace with his father, and turned around to dart off._

 _The boy never looked back as he fled the woods. The fading screams of terror and pain distinct of his father were the last thing the eevee ever knew of the umbreon, as he burst through the treeline and ran into his house._

 _His mother peered at him clearly worried about all that had transpired that night, a wordless question clear in her eyes._

 _Candy just started to tear up and shook his head._

 _August pulled her son close into a loving hug. The two of them bawled their eyes out, the finality of that night's events sinking in._

* * *

Jarard bounced happily on his mother's back, excited by the prospect of food. The group was heading to the town center, where most of the food choices were.

"Should we just be boring and head to The Café? There's usually something there for everyone." Joy asked, eyes darting between her two companions looking for an answer.

"I guess so," August replied. "Though, I find it a bit weird that they'd name a fast food joint The Café when it isn't even a café."

"Hey, food is food! And that's what matters to me." Jarard chimed in.

Joy nodded. "It's settled then."

As the group walked towards The Café, all their ears perked as two familiar voices made themselves known.

"Hey, is that mom?" Skylar was running up, carrying her brother on her back once more.

"It is! And little bro too!" Bailey's grin was wide and bright.

The two siblings tackled their mother and the youngest sibling into a big group hug.

While they were distracted, a heavily breathing oshawott came running from the same general direction. With a huff, she let her complaints be known.

"Skylar! Don't run off like that!"

August simply sat amused and slightly heart warmed, watching the reunion unfold.

Soon the giggling stopped, and Joy took a more serious expression before voicing her question.

"Where's Jaunty and Matthew?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't expect a long chapter here. In fact, don't expect it to be more than a hundred or so words. I'm tired from rewriting everything else, and just wanted a small chapter to take a break, and to tell you all to go read the new and improved prologue, while having a bit of story development. Before the rewrite this would have been Chapter 12, but now it is Chapter 3.**

* * *

That was a close one.

As the cloaked figure wandered through the dark woods, it sighed in relief. If those three had seen them, then they would have been found out for sure!

Scarlett sighed as she sat down, and shed her cloak. It was itchy, but necessary to hide her identity.

It was a good plan to erase Bailey from the picture, but Scarlett hadn't expected Candy to tag along. Or Matthew. Or that umbreon and jolteon.

" _I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised… I'll have to take them into account next time…"_

She curled up by a small fire she lit to sleep for the night.

" _Mom doesn't care about me enough to worry if I'm gone for a night."_

* * *

In the morning, she finished what she had planned. She escaped the forest, and made it home. Unfortunately she had an encounter with Bailey and that pincushion that was with him, but she made it home mostly unharmed.

The braixen on the couch regarded her curiously, but otherwise didn't care.

Scarlett hopped onto her bed, and buried her muzzle in the pillow to get some more (very needed) sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Yotes**

 **Hey everyone, quick author's note vent.**

 **Please stop leaving unrelated reviews. Look. I don't care if Talarc and St Elmo's Fire are assholes, I don't care about Advanceshipping, I don't care whether or not you think I'm a moron, and I don't care about anything to do with all of that drama. Please try to keep reviews related to the story.**

 **If you wanna tell me you like it, awesome. If you want to tell me you don't like it, that's cool too. If you wanna give me criticism, that's even better. But for the love of arceus, PLEASE stop leaving spam/troll reviews, and PLEASE stop leaving reviews arguing with said spammers/trolls. I just wanna write my stories about cute fluffy fictional animals.**

 **With that out of the way, it's time to thank the actually relevant reviewers.**

 **Thank you to Ashchu, and thanks for sticking around. Your question will be answered in due time, my friend.**

 **Sorry if I came off too harsh. I try to stay positive, but it kinda hurts when people are using my story as a warzone. Also, if you wanna join my Discord server for updates or just to talk, that's on my profile. Now, let's move onto the story before half of this chapter becomes author's notes.**

* * *

"We don't know."

Joy looked down, dejected at the response to her question.

"Not even a clue where they are?"

Skylar shook her head.

"We got seperated last night. I took Bailey as you can see. But we have no clue where dad, the eevee, and Candy are."

August cut in.

"Candy made it home. He's accounted for."

Skylar nodded, and Bailey smiled a bit. The smile soon fell, however, when he remembered that his father and friend were likely still wandering the forest.

Jarard felt pretty sad about the situation. He was happy to see his siblings, but he missed his father too… The young eevee pried himself further into the family's embrace, and got a reassuring nuzzle from his older brother.

* * *

When Matthew finally awoke, she had trouble seeing. The espeon was momentarily alarmed and assumed she'd gone blind, but those suspicions were quickly dashed when she saw the full moon up in the sky.

" _Huh… Where am I?"_

Matthew rolled over, jolting back slightly when she came face to face with a fire. Said fire was contained… A campfire, perhaps?

" _Wait… Where's Jaunty?"_

The espeon shot up, but cried in pain as a jackhammer pounded in her skull. She opted to sit back down, lightly nursing her forehead.

"Welcome to the land of the living." Came a familiar voice.

Matthew turned around with a start. Staring at her from the darkness was a pair of piercing red eyes. Said eyes were soon paired with faintly glowing yellow rings.

"Ahh… Mr. Jaunty, you startled me."

The umbreon chuckled lightly.

"Did I? My apologies, strange espeon."

"Strange es-... What?"

Jaunty simply blinked.

"I recognize your scent, yet my eyes deceive me. You seem familiar, yet somehow different."

Matthew lightly drug a skull across her face.

"It's me, Matt."

Jaunty smiled brighter, and gave a hearty laugh.

"Ahah! That makes a lot more sense." He walked over and gave the espeon a hug, who awkwardly returned it. "At least I know one of you are safe…" Jaunty's eyes went downcast, his well veiled concern for his family beginning to show through.

Matt gave him a hug. Not an awkward one, but a friendly and comforting one.

"Don't worry, Mr. Jaunty. I'm sure they're safe."

"I hope so... " The umbreon sighed, but managed to put on another smile. "Also, what's with the formality? You can just call me Jaunty."

"If that is your wish."

It was a long moment before a question popped into Jaunty's mind. It was an even longer moment before he voiced it.

"So, how did we end up split from the others? Last thing I remember is running. Lots of running."

Matthew tilted her head side to side, attempting to loosen her muscles.

"Well, not too long a story really. You were fighting all night, so I swooped in to get you out of there. You collapsed from exhaustion, so I tried to levitate you out of the forest. Eventually I just couldn't carry you any more and I don't know why…" Matthew looked down with a pout.

Jaunty laughed once more.

"Hey, that's pretty impressive! Most pokémon can't even use psychic abilities on dark types. You must be pretty gifted!"

Matthew looked a bit surprised, and a bit more happy.

"Huh? Is that so?"

"Yeah!" Jaunty flashed a large grin, that Matthew couldn't help but mirror. Even if just a little tiny bit.

Jaunty nudged a few berries that he had gathered into Matthew's direction.

"When did you get these?"

"I went foraging while you were sleeping like an oaf."

Matthew huffed slightly, but accepted the berries. They were... pecha berries?

" _Huh… Those don't grow natively here…"_

She supposed it wasn't really important.

The berries were good. Matthew's personal favorite.

"We should probably be trying to find a way out of the woods, since we're both wide awake. I'll use my rings to light your way."

Matthew nodded. The two started walking through the dark, cold woods. The breeze was light, yet it chilled the two to the bone. The light of the full moon barely illuminated the worn down path in front of them, being their only source of vision when Jaunty's rings occasionally faded.

* * *

Scarlett laid down in bed. The small fox was panting and sweating, flopped miserably on her stomach.

Sure she was a fire type, but even they could get too hot from running too much. She grabbed a bottle of grape soda from her mini fridge, and gulped it down greedily.

The fire type glanced down at the bottle in her paws. It wouldn't seem like anything too special to most pokémon. It was simply a fizzy drink to cool down on a hot day.

But to Scarlett, it was so much more than that. It was a symbol of friendship, and it was her solace in times of grief. It reminded her of the good ol' days. Back when school wasn't so tough, back when she had no responsibilities, and back when she and Candy spent little time apart.

* * *

" _Hey, wait up!" Came the squeaky voice of a young eevee. He pranced up to his fennekin friend, who had finally stopped running. "What's the hurry, Scarlett?"_

" _Well Candy," She started with a smirk. "I just got my first allowance!"_

 _The eevee sat down, and curled his tail around himself. He tilted his head in slight confusion._

" _An allowance...? What's that?"_

 _Scarlett giggled mirthfully._

" _It's when your parents give you money, silly!"_

 _The eevee sat there, thinking for a bit. He was still confused. Why does getting money warrant running all the way into town? But then, it clicked in his mind._

" _Oh! Are you buying stuff?"_

" _Mhm!" The fennekin gave a vigorous nod, he large ears bouncing up and down as she did so. "For me, and for you!"_

 _The two embraced in a quick hug._

" _That's very nice of you Scarlett!"_

 _The fennekin blushed._

" _Aww, it's nothing really. Come on, lemme know what you want!"_

 _Candy pondered this offer for a second._

" _Oh, have you had grape soda? It's really good!" Candy beamed at his friend. He groomed his tail as he awaited an answer._

" _No, I don't think I have. Let's go grab some!"_

" _Aye!"_

 _The two walked further into town, until they were in the market. It was a busy place, with many pokémon milling about. Candy just looked around, pondering on what everyone was doing._

 _There was a group of ralts, all about the same age. They were bartering with someone over a trainset. There were two other eevees, one clearly older than the other. The eldest was checking out a thunderstone, but decided against the purchase after checking it's wallet. There a wartortle and a whimsicott. They appeared to be in a spar with each other._

 _Candy simply smiled. He enjoyed seeing the busy streets, and all the other pokémon on it._

" _Hey Candy, we're at the vending machine."_

" _Huh?" Candy looked over to his friend, before walking straight into the aforementioned vending machine._

 _Scarlett simply giggled, and inserted enough money to buy two of the fizzy drinks._

 _The two eagerly cracked open the beverages, beginning to sip at the contents inside._

" _Wow, Candy! This really is good!"_

" _Yeah! I told you!"_

 _The two giggled at each other, and shared a quick nuzzle._

" _I'm glad I met you, Candy. I truly am."_

 _Candy smiled brightly._

" _Aww, I'm glad I met you too!"_

* * *

Scarlett's reminiscing was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone.

She scowled, picking up the offending device with a long groan.

"Hello?" She hissed, venom dripping from the fennekin's voice.

"Hey Scarlett..."

Her tone quickly softened.

"Oh, hey Candy. What's up?"

A choked sob came from the other end.

"I think my friends may be dead..." Candy cried. "And it's all my fault..."

No plan was worth letting her best friend be this miserable. She wouldn't come clean of course, just bend the truth a bit.

"What? Who?"

A sniffle came before an answer.

"Well... Me, Matthew, and Bailey all went into the woods to look for something..." A hiccup interrupted the explanation, before more sobbing.

"And what happened?"

"Well..." Candy sniffled. "We got split up... Some of Bailey's family came in to save us, but I haven't seen them either..."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. They sound like a tough bunch." Scarlett attempted to soothe.

A sigh came from the other end of the phone.

"I sure hope so."

"Don't worry, Candy. They'll be fine."

* * *

"Mr. Jaunty, what's that over there?"

Matthew pointed her paw in the direction of a strange object, shining in the light of the full moon.

Jaunty tilted his head.

"I am unsure. Let's check it out."

The pair of eons walked over to the offending object, inspecting it closely.

"Hey... This is the watch!"

"The... Watch?" Jaunty tilted his head, slightly confused. Well, it was certainly a watch.

"Yeah! This is what we came here for in the first place."

"Interesting." The umbreon scooped up the watch, offering it to Matthew.

Matthew tried to grip it with her psychic, but a sharp pain in her head shot down that idea. She instead opted to carry it in her mouth.

* * *

Candy sighed heavily. Again. It was beginning to fog up the window, which he hadn't left since he had woken up.

A knock at his bedroom door startled him slightly.

After a minute of the door not opening, Candy just huffed and walked over to it. He opened the door.

"Hey, Candy. This salad is for you." Bailey flashed a smile to his best friend.

"Bailey! You're alive!" The sylveon tackled him into a snuggle.

"You bet! Did you m- MPHH?!" Bailey was cut off, as Candy pulled him into a sudden kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sup people. It's me.**

 **I got nothing much to say this time around.**

 **Thanks for the reviews once again, Ashchu and TheLatiKing. I see you two are regulars now! Thanks for sticking around so long, despite my story not being that good.**

 **A bit of a short chapter today! Not too short, I hope, but I felt I did everything I needed to here.**

* * *

Bailey's mind momentarily blanked. It was a calm before the storm. And soon that storm hit, striking with powerful emotions. Confusion, anger, and something he knew but could not name.

By the time Candy realized his mistake, it was too late to take it back. The two eeveelution's muzzles were firmly pressed together. Time seemed to slow for both, the momentum of Candy's lunge carrying them toward the hard wooden floor.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it, though. He felt a bit bad about it, but Candy held the kiss for a few seconds longer than needed

A moment later, it was broken. Candy had pulled away, since Bailey was a bit dumbfounded. And trapped underneath the sylveon.

The two were very flushed.

Bailey's anger and confusion threatened to boil over, but he cooled the flame that fueled his emotions. He took the bright passionate flame down to a smolder.

"B-Bailey... I…" Candy barely managed to squeak out the start of a sentence. He was soon surprised, though, as the fire type pulled him into a hug.

"Don't worry Candy, I understand... It was the heat of the moment, and you didn't know how to react." He smiled softly at his fairy type friend, all traces of anger now extinguished.

Candy returned the embrace tightly. How Bailey phrased it had been a half-truth, at least. While the moment was part of it, his bold move was fueled primarily by emotion. Confusing emotions, that he did not yet fully comprehend.

"I'm sorry, Bailey."

"Hey, don't worry about it."

The two sat there awkwardly few a few minutes, before Candy remembered what his friend had delivered him.

"My salad!" Candy dove for it, unwrapping it and crunching on the leaves.

Bailey rolled his eyes.

Candy padded back into his room with his meal, waving his feeler in a 'follow me' motion.

Bailey obeyed, walking in and shutting the door behind him. His legs gave out as he collapsed into Candy's rolling chair.

Bailey felt unusually and uncomfortably hot. He was already pretty hot being a fire type and all, so the newfound discomfort was disconcerting.

There were butterflies in his stomach, and his heart beat increased as he panted from the heat. Bailey began to sweat. He suddenly felt anxious, and self conscious.

Candy was much the same way. He felt as if he floated through a thick, yet fluid stream of passion and longing. These feelings were very much foreign, only his instincts there to guide.

As Bailey sighed, he accidentally let an ember puff out of his mouth. It came dangerously close to the desk, but he managed to block it with a paw.

Candy left the room for a moment, and soon came back carrying cans of grape soda. He tossed one to Bailey, a silent gesture of sorts.

Bailey nodded in thanks, cracking open the can and taking a sip. Grape wasn't his favorite, but it somehow tasted better than usual.

"We should've never gone after that watch." Candy's large, bouncy ears perked at Bailey's voice. "We shouldn't have risked our lives for something like that. You all are more important to me than some dumb watch could ever be."

Candy nodded in agreement.

The two sat in silence, simply staring at each other, and trying to decipher these new feelings.

* * *

Matthew and Jaunty sat in deep thought against a tree. The espeon thought, while the umbreon felt; Two opposites working in harmony, to accomplish the same goal.

Matthew's eyes snapped open, faintly glowing white. While helpful, her vision was incomplete. She saw where to go, and where they were, but she didn't know how to get there. Jaunty felt in his heart what dangers may lurk and the trials nearby, but not where or when they would appear.

The espeon reached out with her mind. Her dark type opened his heart.

The two contrasting ideas merged to become one, a complete picture of the journey ahead. Both the eeveelutions knew where to go, and felt how to get there.

The pair of opposites slowly stood up, and nodded at each other. They turned and started their journey east.

* * *

Skylar and Audrey had walked outside, to talk on the porch.

"Skylar! Please tell me the next time you go running off like that! I was worried sick about you!"

Skylar gave a wry grin.

"Oh, were you now? I seem to remember you were pretty peeved about me starting another fire."

"Forget that! I just want you to be safe." The oshawott thunked the larger creature with her shell. Perhaps a bit ironic, but it helped hammer in the point nonetheless.

"Oh, you know I can take care of myself fine Aud'. I'm fearless!"

"That's exactly what _I'm_ afraid of..."

The two sat in a long embrace. It was soon interrupted, however, as footsteps came from the treeline. A moment of trepidation washed over the pair, before Jaunty's soft yellow rings began to glow.

Jaunty began to walk up to the pair, paired with a strange espeon. The walk turned to a sprint, however, as he tackled his daughter into a hug.

"Skylar! Thank goodness you're safe!" He nuzzled the blushing jolteon affectionately, who patted his back lightly.

"Dad! This is embarrassing!"

"I know."

The two laughed with each other, enjoying an embrace. Skylar then noticed the espeon, and they both eyed each other curiously.

"Skylar. A pleasure to finally meet you proper."

Skylar blinked once. Then twice.

"Uh, hey."

The espeon cleared her throat.

"My apologies. I am Matthew."

Recognition flashed in the jolteon's eyes.

"Oh! It's you! I thought you were an eevee still?"

Matthew nodded.

"I was, but the circumstances bolstered my need to evolve."

All the commotion caused the rest of the houses inhabitants to meet up at the door, and step outside.

Bailey, Joy, and Jarard all cheered in joy as they tackled Jaunty and Skylar into a family hug.

Matthew sat by the door with Audrey, the two staring at each other intensely.

It was then that Candy and August had walked over.

"Matthew! You evolved!" Candy cheered.

"So I did." Candy's infectious positivity couldn't help but make it's way into Matthew. She cracked a soft smile, the first she could remember since walking into the woods two nights ago.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes**

 **I forgot to label my author's notes last chapter, who would have known? I sure didn't.**

 **Let's get onto the review thanking. This time we thank the reviewers Ashchu and TheLatiKing once again.**

 **Also, I'm considering starting a new story in the same universe as this one, where the characters being focused on are a different(ish) group. After I finish of course. Reading this one wouldn't entirely be required to understand it. Would any of you be interested in that? Let me know!**

 **Addendum: I'm extremely sorry this wasn't out yesterday. Something came up, leaving me unable to finish writing and upload as intended. Also sorry about this being another shorter chapter, but I again just didn't feel it needed to be longer.**

* * *

Bailey quivered as he lay in bed. He glanced once more at his alarm clock, it was 3:21 AM. Once again, another sleepless night. This had become a pattern ever since Candy had kissed him a week ago.

He knew he didn't feel any different than before about Candy, but his previous emotions were amplified. Whenever he was around the sylveon, he was beginning to have trouble thinking. Though, they hadn't spent much time together recently on account of Bailey sleeping through all of his classes, and lunch period.

Bailey's eyes fell to something else. A certain object glinting faintly in the moonlight. Matthew had returned the watch to him, as it was the reason they had all went into the woods in the first place. Of course, she had been very apologetic about the whole event.

On that thought, Bailey didn't remember seeing Matthew at all that week. She was in his fifth class, though hadn't shown up ever since that night. He hadn't seen her around or outside of school either. No one he asked had seen her either. Asking her parents was out of question, as he didn't know where Matthew lived.

It worried him slightly, to say the least.

She had changed a lot, post evolution. She'd become more calm, and mature, but still had the energy and general personality she had before. That was normal, of course. Evolution didn't just change you physically, but mentally as well.

This fact put a question in Bailey's mind.

" _What was I like before I evolved?"_

* * *

" _Come on, Bailey! You're always so slow!" Came the raspy voice of the eevee ahead of him._

" _Slow down!" Bailey's pace began to slow. He began to pant, attempting to catch his breath. Sweat was building up, and matting his fur. "What's so important that we're sneaking out this early in the morning?!"_

 _The eevee ahead had finally stopped. She turned, and walked back to her younger brother._

" _I thought I told you! I found evolution stones!"_

" _Really?! That's awesome!"_

 _With renewed energy, the two eevee siblings continued their sprint, one leading the other._

 _Bailey squinted his eyes as he ran. They'd made it out of town a half hour ago now, and the sun was beginning to rise. Up ahead he saw the river._

" _Sky!" He called. "Is it across the river?"_

" _Yup!"_

 _As the approached the river, Bailey slowed down. Skylar had simply leapt over, but he opted to swim instead._

 _Bailey was excited at the prospect of evolving, of course. He'd be the second in his grade to do so. He wondered what he'd evolve into, though? A flareon, jolteon, or a vaporeon? The idea of a vaporeon seemed pretty cool to him. Being able to stay underwater would be awesome!_

 _Soon, Skylar began to slow. Bailey did too. Both eevees slowly walked into a small cave, one with drenched fur and one completely dry. It was lit up enough to see, and the floor was leg deep with stagnant water._

 _Skylar jutted a paw out towards the faintly glowing stones in the corner of the cave._

 _One thunder stone, one water stone, and one fire stone._

 _They sat down in front of the stones, gazing in awe._

" _Hey sis, you should be a flareon since you're so hot-headed."_

 _Skylar rolled her eyes._

" _Very funny. Maybe you should become one because you roasted me so hard." She replied. Of course, he hadn't actually roasted her very hard, she just didn't want to upset her only brother._

" _Hey, that's actually a great idea!" He padded over to the stone, ready to place his paw on it._

" _Bailey, wait! Shouldn't you think about this harder first?"_

" _I've made up my mind."_

 _Skylar sighed. She had made up her mind long ago, but her brother hadn't seemed to think on the subject much. She walked to the thunderstone, and hovered her own paw over it._

" _We'll go at the same time, okay bro?"_

" _Gotcha."_

" _One... Two... Three!" The two eevees put their paws to the stone at the same time._

 _The two siblings began to glow. A bright, blinding light filled the cave._

 _The two siblings simply stared at each other, as they evolved._

 _Soon after, the light flashed brightly, and dissipated._

 _Even after their eyes adjusted, it was still hard to see. The intense heat from both of their evolutions turned all the water in the cave to steam._

 _They quickly crawled out of the cave, Skylar being sure to grab the water stone._

 _The two siblings smiled, and laughed together. Bailey tackled his sister into a hug, which soon turned into a playful fight._

 _The shocks and burns from the fight weren't strong enough to do much damage, but they still hurt a little. Once the two finished their playful spar, they began their journey home._

" _It feels so weird! But I like it!" Bailey said. He stumbled over his new large paws, but managed to regain footing._

" _Yeah, I agree." Skylar stretched out her legs, eager to take off running. She held back the urge, though, as to not leave her brother in the dust._

 _When they finally got home and opened the door, they saw their slightly angry but expectant mother waiting for them. The anger soon turned to surprise, and then to recognition._

" _Kids! You evolved!" Joy cried. The leafeon ran over and embraced them in a hug. Jaunty soon came over as well, and joined in the hug._

" _Yeah!" Skylar cheered, Bailey nodding in agreement._

 _As they broke the hug, Jaunty cleared his throat._

" _That still doesn't excuse you two for running off without permission."_

 _The newly evolved pokémon's ears flattened._

 _Joy nodded._

" _If you would have asked first, we would have let you go. We won't punish you this time, but we will the next. Don't do it again."_

 _The cubs nodded in understanding, and slunk away to their respective rooms._

 _The two parent's attentions were quickly drawn to the shining blue stone on the floor._

 _They walked over, Jaunty scooping it up. They looked into each other's eyes, a silent agreement of sorts. Jaunty placed the water stone on a shelf for use another time._

* * *

Bailey's daydream soon turned to real dreams. The young flareon slept soundly, snoring softly as he got some much needed rest.

This rest was soon interrupted, however, by the blaring of his alarm clock. He slammed a large paw down on the snooze button, and continued doing the same.

When he finally awoke fully rested, he glanced at the clock.

"9:00 AM?!" He shot out of bed, and thundered downstairs.

The rest of his family who had just gotten up stared at him oddly.

Skylar was the first to pipe up. "What's the rush?"

Bailey began to panic. "I'm late for sch-"

"It's Sunday."

"What?" Bailey eyed his sister warely, but then thought about it a bit more. "Oh, so it is! My bad."

He backed his way up the steps, smiling sheepishly as his family giggled at him.

Bailey launched himself back into bed, pulling the covers over his head and turning towards the wall.

* * *

Candy sighed to himself. He couldn't help but be peeved at the new emotions. His feelings for Bailey were very strange indeed, and very foreign.

Except the weren't, were they?

No. He couldn't lie to himself anymore.

Candy was a sylveon. He knew what love felt like, and denial of this fact would get him nowhere. He slumped once more at his windowsill, and sighed. It was a mix of apprehension and glee.

"I really do love that goof, don't I?" He said to nobody in particular. A rhetorical inquiry, of course. He'd realized this weeks ago, but hadn't accepted it until now.

Candy was never one to believe in the whole "love at first sight" schtick, but he supposed that was the only explanation. It was more than just infatuation. It somehow felt more intimate, more genuine. It wasn't an extremely attractive, very good natured, perfect flareon that he loved. He loved Bailey, and nothing more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Moat**

 **What's this? It's the Author's Note show! Premiering with the all new episode: Chapter 7 notes!**

 **...Except no one liked the episode because there was almost nothing to say in the notes.**

 **Thanks for reviewing Ashchu and WarriorsIsAwesome. Y'all are the best, seriously.**

* * *

She was not quite asleep, but not quite awake. It was that in between state that clung to Joy's consciousness.

She and Jaunty had went back to bed to snuggle after breakfast, and that's where they were now.

Jaunty lovingly groomed his mate, who had her muzzle buried deep in his chest. The two embraced in a warm cuddle, simply enjoying nothing more than each other's company.

The blissful mood was soon interrupted, however, as there was a knocking at the front door.

Joy let out an annoyed grunt. The leafeon buried her head deeper into Jaunty's soothing, jet black fur and opted to simply ignore the knocking.

Jaunty had momentarily paused his grooming, but continued when Joy ignored the knocks. The knocking came again.

The leafeon let out a very annoyed sigh. The two lovers shared a brief kiss before Joy hopped up and went to check the door.

Before she made it there, the knocking came again.

"I'M COMING! Jeeze..." She hollered.

Joy opened the door to see none other than Candy standing there, smiling up at her.

"Hello there, Mrs. Joy!" He cheered with a beam.

"Ah, good morning Candy. Come to visit my son, I presume?"

"You betcha!"

Joy nodded with a smile. "Of course. He's asleep though, so you'll have to wake him up." She stepped aside to let Candy inside.

Candy simply nodded, and pranced inside. He bounced up the stairs, and crept into Bailey's room.

* * *

Bailey was having a rather pleasant dream. What of, he couldn't place, but it was pleasant nonetheless. This was soon interrupted as he felt something heavy land on top of him.

Bailey sat up with a gasp, and came snout to snout with his friend Candy. He quickly pulled away with a blush. Candy blushed as well.

"Oh, hey Candy." He chuckled lightly. "What brings you here this early in the morning?"

The sylveon in question tilted his head.

"Early? It's almost noon."

Bailey looked towards his clock, which displayed as eleven o'clock.

"Ah. So it is." Bailey stared into Candy's deep blue eyes, with a warm smile. "What brings you here this late in the morning?"

"Well uh..." Candy averted his eyes, blush deepening. "I kinda came to talk feelings..."

This peaked Bailey's interest.

"Oh?" His ears twitched lightly.

"Yeah... I'm just gonna be blunt, okay?"

Bailey nodded.

"Mhm. Go ahead."

"Bailey... I think I love you."

The fire type sputtered.

"What?!"

Bailey's breath quickened, and his heart rate increased. He felt afraid. Not afraid of what his friend had said, but of his own feelings he'd now have to confront.

Candy averted his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was stupid to ever think you'd feel the same way..."

Bailey sighed. It was time to be brave.

"Oh, Candy..." He sighed once more.

"I'm sorry Bailey... I really am. It's just... I can't deny my feelings any longer... You're the best person I've ever met! You deserve the whole world! I'm sorry..."

Bailey let out the breath he had been holding.

"Candy... To me, you _are_ the world…" He leaned in, and gave the sylveon a soft kiss. His orange fur turned a deep red, and his ears splayed back.

Candy's eyes widened, as he blushed as well. He soon kissed his companion back, affectionately wrapping the flareon in his ribbon-like feelers.

It was all too soon in Bailey's eyes, but they soon pulled apart.

"I love you too, Candy."

The two simply smiled at each other, laying in Bailey's bed and sharing an embrace under the covers.

"Bailey..."

"Hmm?"

"I don't know if this will work out…"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The sylveon sighed.

"Well it's just, you know... Kinda gay? I'd be surprised if anyone approved..."

Bailey nuzzled Candy's head gently.

"I don't know if I'm interpreting my feelings right, Candy. But I do know that the opinion of others isn't what's important. We should be together if we're happy, others' approval be damned."

That was a good enough answer for the sylveon. He buried his snout in his fire type companion's thick, fluffy mane.

* * *

At around one o'clock, the sleeping pair of eeveelutions awoke once more.

"Yo Candy."

"Yeah?"

"Wanna just like, get up and hang out? I'm kinda tired of sleeping."

Candy nodded, and rolled out of bed. He landed on his soft paws with a thud. Bailey did the same, but landed on his rear instead.

Bailey flipped on his television. He didn't intend to actually watch it, but the background noise was always nice.

Candy picked up a grape soda from the case he had brought. They weren't cold anymore, but grape soda was always good.

He tossed one to Bailey. The flareon tried to catch it, but ended up getting thunked in the head. With a shrug, he picked it up and cracked it. The two more-than-friends sipped their drinks idly.

"So uh... What do you wanna do?" Bailey pondered.

"Oh! Uh... I don't know, actually." Candy replied.

"Wanna play Dungeons and Dragonites?" A third voice chimed in.

The two looked over to see an umbreon peering innocently at them from near Bailey's door.

"Oh, hey there dad." Bailey greeted. "I'm down."

Candy nodded.

"Me too."

 **(Mid-chapter author's note: I am not writing out a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. No.)**

* * *

Scarlett was beginning to have second thoughts about her scheming. She wasn't going to give up, of course, but the seeds of doubt were there.

The fennekin walked down stairs, and over to the front door.

"I'm heading out, mother."

"Okay."

She was walking down the streets, when a familiar voice called out to her.

"Hey, Scar'!"

It was a sawk that came running up to her.

"Good afternoon, Daniel."

"I told ya' Scar', it's just Dan."

"Whatever."

The sawk picked Scarlett up, and gave her a noogie. She struggled, and eventually escaped by spraying a few flames into the smiling sawk's face.

"Cut it out, Daniel."

Dan gave out a hearty laugh.

"Ah, okay Scar'. How are ya'? We haven't talked in ages!"

"I'm fine."

"Glad to hear it!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I'm pretty good, myself." Dan said with a large grin.

"I didn't ask."

"Ah, sorry Scar'." His smile faltered, but only momentarily.

"..."

"Hey, you look pretty down, dude." Said Dan. Suddenly, he had an idea. His beam brightened. "Oh! Why don't we go into town together?"

"Sorry, but that's-"

"Great!" Dan cut the fennekin off. He picked up the struggling fire type, and carried her through town.

Several bites, scratches, and burns later, the fennekin finally felt the sawk lower her onto a bench. They were in town square.

"What do you intend to accomplish by moving me her?"

"Let's have lunch together!" The saw gave his companion a large grin.

Scarlett rolled her eyes in exasperation.

" _Well, I'm already here. I may as well accept."_

"Yes, Daniel. I will have lunch with you."

"Great!"

Dan opened up the sack he had been carrying. He pulled out a few sandwiches, and two bottles of water, placing them in between him and Scarlett.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem, really!"

The fennekin chewed on her sandwich thoughtfully, pondering on the situation.

" _Why does Daniel always refuse to just leave me alone? Am I forever to be tortured by his stupid, smiling face?"_ She swallowed her bite of sandwich. " _Though, he has at least learned my tastes in sandwich over the years."_

"Daniel, why do you always interact with me? Why do you always seem so eager to talk with me?"

Dan raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? What do you mean? Of course I like to hang out with you. We're friends, we have been for years!"

"No, we are not."

Dan's seemingly undefeatable smile finally fell.

"Oh…" He shuffled awkwardly for a bit. "I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven." Scarlett sneared.

" _Friends. Hah. As if I would be friends with that dunce."_

Dan was having thoughts of his own.

" _She doesn't consider me a friend? We've hung out for years! I mean, I guess I was always the one to initiate contact, but... She rarely seemed to mind."_

The sawk sighed as he finished his sandwich.

"It was nice seeing you again, Scarlett. I gotta go." Dan stood up, his head hung low as he trudged away.

Scarlett waited for a minute. There was a pain growing in her heart, and eventually she caved under the pressure.

"Dan!" She called.

He looked back, clearly saddened.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." The fennekin said, before hopping up herself and walking away.

* * *

"That was fun." Candy said.

"Yeah." Bailey nodded in agreement.

"Told y'all." Jaunty smiled brightly. "Hey, what do you say we all go down stairs for lunch?"

The two younger eeveelutions nodded.

"It's settled then! Let's go."

The trio walked down stairs.

Jaunty jauntily jaunted over to the couch where his mate was laying. The umbreon and leafeon shared a quick nuzzle.

Jaunty called out to Bailey. "Hey, it's your turn to make lunch!"

Bailey walked into the kitchen and started preparing some noodles.

It was around 8 minutes when he had finished 6 bowls.

He called out to the rest of the house.

"Food!"

Soon, the kitchen was filled. An umbron, leafeon, jolteon, sylveon, and eevee all flooded into the kitchen. They all took a bowl and began to eat.

"Thanks big bro!" Jarared cheered.

"It's no problem, buddy." Bailey pet his little brother's head.

When no one was looking, Candy slipped a quick kiss onto Bailey's cheek.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

 **End of Chapter Author's Notes?!**

 **Yeah, felt these were warranted. I just want to say I'm sorry. I felt like this chapter wasn't as good as usual, and might have been a bit too short. I'm sorry if you're disappointed this time around. I will be sure to put in double the effort next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes (way too long edition!)**

 **Hey, everyone. Welcome back. Before I start this time, I'd just like to give a huge thank you to everyone supporting this story.**

 **Whenever I see the review number go up, it makes me smile in a way not much can let me do anymore. Every single word you guys write makes my day, even if you don't feel like you're doing much. Even for those who don't review, it means the world to me that you'll take the time out of your day to read the story I've written for you.**

 **All I can say is, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you. All of you.**

 **I'm saying this all now because my year-long journey with this story is almost over. I know it's a bit short, but we're approaching the final few chapters here.**

 **This isn't goodbye, though. I'll be starting a new story right after, set in the same universe! It's more of a see you later (hopefully). Though if you guys don't wanna go read the new story when it's out, that's fine too.**

* * *

Joy sighed in content as she finished off her coffee. It was a bit nippy today, so the warm drink was very much appreciated. The leafeon yawned as she opened the door, but the yawn turned into a squealed in surprise as she opened the front door. A colossal pile of cold, bitter, stinging snow came crashing down on the poor grass type.

She whined, and crawled out from under the all-consuming white powder, and shouted.

"GUYS! W-WE'RE SNOWED IN A-AGAIN!" Came her quivering, but still strong voice.

The whole family came to the door to see what the commotion was about.

Bailey and Skylar stretched in unison, giving each other sidelong glances.

Being the only types in the family able to get rid of the snow with any efficiency, they knew they were going to have a long morning.

The family had breakfast at the table. Jaunty wrapped a blanket around his shivering wife and held her close. Joy gave him an affectionate nuzzle in return.

Skylar yawned and stretched. She thought about going out to start early on the snow, but thought better of it and grabbed some coffee first.

Bailey stared in awe, and dread at the pile of snow seeping into the doorway. No matter how hard he squinted, he couldn't see the sky beyond the glittering white mass.

Jarard sat much the same as his older brother, though more awe than dread.

"Welp..." Jaunty sighed. "It looks like it's gonna be one of _those_ years again, aye?"

* * *

Bailey was the first to start, melting the snow away with a hot, steady stream of flames. Skylar soon joined. While not as effective, the intense heat from her occasional thunderbolts make a significant dent in the snow as well.

As the two siblings worked, a third soon joined them. Jarard was digging at the snow with his small paws. Dig was really the only move he knew, but he was really good at it.

Eventually, Jaunty came out with a large shovel and began to shovel some snow.

Joy being a grass type, she couldn't help very much. She instead opted to prepare snacks and coco for when her family inevitably took one of several breaks that they would that day.

Steam rose through the air as the two eldest siblings evaporated the snow, with little sign of fatigue.

By seven o'clock (AM) they had cleared most of their yard and started on the driveway. Jaunty was the first to retire.

"I'm gonna go take a break. My joints are killing me..." Stated the umbreon. Everyone else nodded. He walked inside and sat on the couch, snuggling under the blanket with Joy. The aforementioned leafeon gave him a cup of hot chocolate.

Jarard was the second to go.

"Oh... Sorry guys... I just can't feel my paws anymore." He said, looking down dejectedly.

The two elder siblings gave him a warm smile.

"Hey, that's fine champ. You tried your best." Sky said in an attempt to comfort him.

"Aww, thanks sis..." He held his head a bit higher, padding inside and hopping between his two parents. Joy passed her son hot chocolate as well, and a cookie.

Thirty minutes later, Bailey decided it was break time for him as well.

"Yo sis, I'mma go grab a soda. I'll be back in fifteen." The flareon was sweating, beginning to pant. "Need to cool off a bit."

Skylar simply nodded, as she struck another bolt into the large layer of snow. She looked up at the towering mass. It was intimidating, sure, but the jolteon felt she was more so. This cowardly snow would fall before her thundery wrath!

After fifteen minutes, her brother did not return as promised. The driveway was about half way clear it this point, so Skylar decided she deserved a break too. The jolteon slowly walked back into the house. As she was walking, however, a large shadow passed over her in the faint early morning light.

The jolteon looked to the heavens, and then she saw it. A large, blue bird that couldn't be described as anything less than majestic. It had a white underside, a crest of feathers above it's eyes, and a long tail trailing behind.

" _Huh... Who's that?"_ She pondered, but quickly disregarded the question. It wasn't so important, she supposed.

As she walked inside and joined the family, Jaunty gave a hearty laugh.

"Can't believe the first snow of the year was this bad. And it's barely even autumn!" He snickered a bit, and everyone else couldn't help but join in.

"Yeah, that's crazy!" Jarard chimed in.

Joy's face was the only one that betrayed her name, but her features soon softened.

"I hate snow, but I love seeing my family coming together for something."

Skylar took a sip of the coco her mother had given her.

"Tell me about it. We don't work together on stuff nearly enough anymore."

"Yeah..." Bailey agreed. "But this whole snow fiasco is really strange..." His expression turned serious.

If there's one thing Jarard didn't like, it was serious. He hopped up, and tackled his elder brother. He snuggled into the older flareon's large fluffy mane, intent on cheering him up.

It worked, of course. On everyone. The whole bunch of eevees soon joined in, creating a large pile of fluff and warmth.

Bailey sighed contently. Maybe cooling off could wait, just for a bit.

* * *

Scarlett woke up with a start. Her mother had loudly yipped, signaling for everyone to get up immediately.

Scarlett walked down the stairs towards the braixen in the living room. Three more fennekins joined them. Her siblings, of course. Soon everyone cleared a path as a large, imposing ninetails crept down as well.

"What is it, Carmine?" He called to the braixen. His wife, of course.

"We're snowed in, _Crimson._ " Her spiteful scowl could have easily been the sole cause of her complaint, cold enough to freeze the sun.

The ninetails sighed. "Burgundy, Ruby, Scarlett, Cherry." The four cubs stood to attention. "Let's all get to work, you know what to do."

The family of six fire types got to work clearing out the snow. With all of them there, it was little issue to clear the snow from their yard.

Carmine waved her stick around lazily, spreading flames in a careless manner. Crimson's blasts were more focused, and powerful.

Only two of the cubs could really keep up. Burgundy's meager flames did little to help, and Cherry was chattering to the other fennekin relentlessly. Ruby and Scarlett puffed hot flames into the snow, making significant progress in melting it.

"So then I said, like, who even cares? It's not like you're the one with money here." Cherry laughed at her own story. Burgundy didn't laugh, but simply nodded in acknowledgement to her sister. "So then she was all like, just because you have money doesn't make you better than us! But it totally does, right? She's just clueless." Cherry began to laugh even harder, as she attempted to retell the events of the previous week.

Eventually Ruby stopped spewing flames and turned towards younger fennekin.

"My god, Cherry can you like, shut up for five seconds?"

Cherry gasped, taken aback.

"WHAT did you just say?!"

Scarlett giggled at the outburst.

"She said shut up. And I agree. You've been talking poor Burgundy's ears off all day, and ours too." Scarlett chuckled dryly, watching her younger sister wilt at her words.

"I'm like, so telling mom you said that!" Cherry said, beginning to get mad.

"Go ahead." Ruby suggested. "Better her than us, go talk at mom for a while so we can actually be useful."

Cherry ran off towards the aforementioned braixen, sobbing lightly.

Burgundy glanced over timidly to her two elder sisters.

"Do you think that you might have been a little too harsh...?"

Scarlett sighed.

"Well, maybe... I'll apologize after we clear the snow."

Ruby simply scoffed.

"Uh, no? We're right, aren't we? Besides, you're not too helpful either pipsqueak."

Burgundy backed off, and continued peppering the snow with meager flames.

Scarlett regarded Ruby scornfully.

"Hey, be nice to Burgundy. You know she's soft."

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, Scarlett, why are you siding with _them_? I'm right. Softness is no excuse for poor skill."

"You only pointed it out to make her hurt." Scarlett countered.

"Yeah, okay, whatever you say Scar'." Ruby gave a smug grin.

"Don't call me that! You know I hate it!" Scarlett growled.

"Scar'! Scar' Scar' Scar'!" Taunted the older fennekin.

"Knock it off!" Scarlett warned, smoke puffing from her nose.

Ruby leaned in real close, and whispered.

"Scar'."

Scarlett was about to explode in anger, when a loud voice interrupted them.

"That is ENOUGH!" Carmine bellowed. "Quit your incessant bickering and actually be useful, you little brats!"

The braixen looked like she was about to chastise them more, but felt a large paw settle on her shoulder.

"Honey, please calm down." Crimson soothed.

"Get your dirty mitts off me!" She barked, smacking her husband's paw away. She huffed, turning away from everyone and angrily melting away more of the snow.

Crimson was hurt at her outburst, but not surprised. He turned to his four cubs.

"Children, please... Just work together to clear out the snow, and _try_ not to upset your mother, okay?"

The four nodded in unison.

Crimson nodded contently, and resumed blasting the snow with fire. The four cubs did the same.

Within an hour, all of the snow was gone, and the family walked back inside. A tense, sour feeling was in the air, as if a blanket of negative emotions was draped over everyone present.

Scarlett slipped a quick apology to Cherry, and retreated to her room.

Not really wanting to be at home right now, she decided to call someone to stay at their place.

Candy didn't pick up his phone, so that meant the only option was...

" _Daniel."_ She thought miserably. She may not have liked the annoying sawk very much, but it was at least better than dealing with her home troubles.

She picked up her cell phone, waiting for Dan to pick up.


	9. Chapter 9

The first snow of the year had sent everyone into a panic. It was large, and it came early. School had been called off for a week while the gargantuan amounts of snow were cleared, and officials tried to figure out why it had snowed so much.

While having school called off was by most accounts a good thing, a certain fire type found his heart empty and longing.

Bailey stared out of his window, the quadruped spiteful of the snowy landscape outside. The cold didn't bother him of course; he couldn't feel it. No, Bailey just missed the sylveon that he called more than a friend. He crawled back in bed with the young eevee that accompanied him, wrapping the two of them in his covers. He stared at the wall as he shivered, his teeth beginning to chatter.

In reality, it wasn't just being apart from Candy which bothered him. It was also the cabin fever. They had worked and cleared the snow, but it seemed to have come back overnight. The family had been snowed in for nearly four days now. The temperature outside had been steadily falling the whole time. It was at the point where even Bailey began to feel cold. That made him feel really bad for the rest of the family, especially his mom.

It was about day two when Jarard started coming to snuggle with him for warmth. Bailey had no objections, of course, but he hated that it had come to this. He didn't like the thought that his poor brother was getting that cold.

Skylar had been faring much better, at least able to tough it out.

Jaunty was doing the best out of everyone, excluding Bailey. Being an umbreon and all, he was more than adapted to the cold chills of the late night. He and Skylar were spending all their time taking care of the family during the seemingly endless snow storm.

The extreme cold began to make Joy very ill. Bailey would frequently take Jarard, the two of them going to cuddle with the poor leafeon. The grass type was definitely more used to warmer climates, and the low temperature was wreaking havoc on her immune system. Jaunty almost refused to leave her side as she lay in bed, too weak to move properly.

Bailey decided to go check on his mom. He scooped up the sleeping eevee, and walked out and into his parents' room.

The leafeon in bed was very pale, her eyes dull and tired. Some life returned to her eyes, however, as she spotted two of her children. She mustered a weak smile, and nodded at them.

Jaunty wasn't in the room at the moment, surprisingly. Presumably downstairs cooking dinner.

Bailey hopped into bed, and hugged his very cold mother tightly, with the young eevee between the two.

Joy gave him an appreciative look, before closing her eyes to rest once more.

"H-h-how are you h-holding up, m-m-mom?" Bailey stuttered through chattering teeth. He got a soft grunt in response.

"C-could be b-b-better..." She replied after a moment. The grass type covered her muzzle, sneezing into her dull brown paws. "I-it's just... _So cold_..."

Bailey sighed.

"I'm s-sorry mom." Bailey said.

Jarard's soft snoring soon ceased, as he awoke from his slumber. The small eevee stretched and gave a squeaky yawn, before looking around curiously with his big, bright eyes.

"W-where's dad?"

Joy sighed. She knew someone was going to ask that question eventually.

"H-he went o-out into the snow... W-w-we ran out of f-food last n-night."

Bailey gasped in shock.

"WHAT?! He'll die out there!"

Joy shook her head.

"Have faith, s-son..."

" _That's not too easy when you see your family dying in front of you."_ Bailey thought about saying, but bit his tongue. That type of thinking wasn't healthy. Right now.

Joy avoided her eldest son's gaze. She felt afraid. Afraid for her life, Afraid for their food supply, and most predominantly afraid for her husband's safety. Yes, she had faith in him, but the mere thought of almost losing him was terrifying.

Almost losing him _again_.

* * *

" _Come on Joy, hurry up!" The eevee called to his friend. "We only have an hour to explore!"_

 _Joy panted, pounded her brown paws against the dirt in a desperate attempt to keep up._

 _As she finally caught up, she skidded to a stop at where her best friend was sitting._

 _The eevee soon realized she was sliding off from a cliff, and began to scream. She soon felt her friend bite into her scruff and pull her back._

" _Careful, Joy! You could've died." The two eevees looked at each other, one smiling and one scared for her life. "You gotta stop being so clumsy."_

 _Joy huffed, but opted to let it go._

" _Jaunty! You should have told me where we were going so that wouldn't have happened!"_

 _Jaunty smiled sheepishly._

" _Ah, oops... Well, at least I saved you, right?" He puffed his chest proudly. "I'm your hero! That's deserving of a kiss, I'd wager." He teased._

 _Joy batted his cheek lightly with a paw._

" _Oh yes, my knight in shining armor." She deadpanned, rolling her eyes but smiling nonetheless._

 _Jaunty gave a hearty laugh, that Joy soon joined in with._

 _In all honesty, Joy had felt feelings towards Jaunty for over a year now. But, she knew the eevee was just teasing, so she never tried to make any advances._

 _Jaunty wandered over to the edge and looked over._

" _Pretty long fall, eh?"_

" _Yeah... Maybe you should stay away from the edge." Joy suggested._

" _Don't be lame, Joy! I live for the danger." He said. The eevee began prancing around the edge._

" _Jaunty! Stop!"_

" _Oh look Joy, I'm gonna fall! Ooo-ooh!" He taunted, laughing joyously._

" _Stop it! You're gonna fall if you keep that up!"_

 _Jaunty laughed more, but came to a stop._

" _Ah, look Joy. I'm fine! There's nothing to be afra-" He was interrupted as the dirt beneath his back paws crumbled out from under him._

 _Both of the eevees screamed in fear, Joy rushing over as Jaunty clutched onto the edge with his forepaws, desperately trying to pull himself up._

" _JOY! HELP ME!" As he rapidly pawed at the ground, more dirt beginning to come loose._

" _JAUNTY! I told you to stop, you moron!" The eevee bounded over to her companion, biting down onto his paw._

" _AAH!" Jaunty shouted in pain, as his friend's teeth dug deep into his paw. Blood leaked out and flowed freely, but she had a good grip on him. Joy used all her strength to pull the other eevee up, and further onto safe land just to make sure._

 _She spat out Jaunty's paw, who hissed in pain. He cried out once more, as he felt a smack against his cheek._

" _Hey! What was that for?!" He shot._

" _I told you to stop! You could have died, you moron!"_

 _Jaunty's ears pinned back. He curled his tail around his body as he sat in shame._

" _Joy, I'm sorry... It was a mistake. I honestly didn't mean to scare you."_

 _Joy sighed, but smiled through her freshly forming tears._

" _Well, at least you're safe now. You're lucky I could save you." She concluded. Her smile turned to a smirk. "I'm your hero! That's deserving of a kiss, I'd wager."_

 _Jaunty smiled softly._

" _Yeah, I'd wager it is." He pranced over to the other eevee and planted a kiss on her muzzle. Joy recoiled slightly in shock, but soon accepted the bold move and pressed into it. After a few seconds, they pulled away._

" _Oh, Jaunty... Please, never leave me."_

" _I don't plan on it." He smiled. "Though, can't promise I won't get myself killed some day."_

* * *

Jaunty let out a puff of breath as he shoveled away more snow. He had recalled the same memory, smiling as it warmed his heart.

" _I can do this. I'll do it for you, Joy..."_ As he shoveled snow, he was carving out a tunnel. The snow was packed enough to suspend itself over his head.

The umbreon's rings shone bright and proud. He would finish his tunnel, and he would provide food for his family. His small sack had already been partially filled with a few of the hardier berries that survived the snow. While his family wasn't the biggest fan of berries, food was food.

After a few hours, his body had mostly went numb. The shivering umbreon's resolve was quickly faltering, the labor wearing down on his body. He had filled his sack, so he decided to start back down his tunnel.

Once he arrived back home, it was night time. He shakily reached towards the door knob, and pulled it open. The last thing Jaunty saw before he collapsed as the blurring image of his unlit house.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Coats**

 **Sorry that there were no notes last chapter. Please understand, I wasn't in a good mood. And also sorry for not updating this weekend, the only time I was in the mood for writing was spent fixing minor formatting/grammar/spelling issues in the prologue.**

 **Story is almost at 20k words now, so that's really cool. The story will probably end around 30kish. Though honestly, a few hundred of those words are probably author's notes. Since my birthday is only around 3ish weeks away, I decided I'm gonna get a dedicated machine for typing. That way I'll be able to pump out more content for y'all!**

 **Also, I tried to make this one a bit longer for y'all.**

 **Thanks for reviewing once more, Ashchu. Everyone's comments on this story mean a lot to me.**

* * *

"Hey, is he moving? It looks like he's gonna wake up soon."

"Are you sure? He's been out a while."

"Here, I'll give him a paw."

It was after hearing that quick back and forth that Jaunty was snapped awake with a quick zap from his eldest.

"Gah!" he cried, "What in the heck was that for?!"

"Waking you up." Skylar accompanied her response with a shrug. Bailey gave the older umbreon a sympathetic smile.

"Ah... It doesn't matter, I suppose. Where's your mother?" The umbreon shot up, darting his head around curiously. "I brought food."

Jarard tilted his head, indicating up-stairs. "Mom's in y'all's room."

"Thank you." With that, Jaunty hopped up and stretched. He carried his small sack of berries up the stairs, giddy anticipation filling his heart.

As the umbreon slowly creaked open the door, he felt butterflies in his stomach. He smiled to himself, as his eyes lay upon his sleeping mate. Jaunty pranced over, nudging the shivering leafeon softly.

Joy's tired brown eyes fluttered open. Recognition soon filled them as she gazed upon the one she loved. With a burst of energy that had been days absent, the grass type leaped from bed and into her mate's arms.

The two lovers embraced tightly, gazing into each other's eyes.

Joy nuzzled into the umbreon's chest.

"Oh, Jaunty..." she muttered, "I was beginning to worry..."

Jaunty layed a light kiss on her forehead.

"I've been through worse, you know that." Jaunty gave a heart belly laugh. Joy gazed into his eyes with concern.

"Jaunty... You're getting older, you know that." The leafeon buried her head back in his chest. "You aren't going to be able to pull off these kinds of stunts forever. We aren't children anymore, are bodies aren't what they used to be."

Jaunty simply laughed once more.

"Nonsense! I'm fine, aren't I?" he refuted, giving a goofy grin. Said grin was soon replaced with a frown, as a brown paw smacked across his face.

"Listen to what you're saying!" Joy was beginning to raise her voice, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. "We found you unconscious! You were not fine, and you're lucky we have children that can keep you from freezing to death!" the leafeon ranted, choking back a sob. "You should have came back sooner!"

"Joy... I-"

"NO! Do not finish that sentence!" she shouted. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when the kids dragged in your cold, limp, unmoving body?! I-... I-..." Joy hugged Jaunty tightly, breaking down into sobs.

Jaunty nuzzled her head, gently petting her back. The umbreon just sat in silence for several minutes, simply letting the love of his life release her emotions.

"Oh, Joy..." he started. The leafeon in his arms looked up at him, face wet with tears. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you this way..." Jaunty gave her a loving lick, clearing away some of the tears. "I'll be more careful next time, you have my word."

Joy wailed harder, bawling into Jaunty's shoulder. He simply sat there comforting her.

"I love you so much..." she choked.

"I love you too..."

The two shared a passionate kiss, leaving the sack of berries forgotten at the wayside. Joy gently pushed her husband over, crawling on top of him.

"Please be more careful next time... What about when the children are all grown up and out on their own, and I'm too old to help you?"

Jaunty nodded. "I'll be more careful, I promise..." He then flashed a suggestive grin as an idea crossed his mind. "Though... It might not be a problem if we had another kid."

Joy's face flushed a deep red.

"Y-yeah. I'd like that," she agreed, as the umbreon trailed a paw down her side.

* * *

The three children were sitting downstairs, snacking on the berries Jaunty had spilled when he had collapsed.

"How much longer do you think this snow is gonna last?" Bailey asked to no one in particular.

Skylar gave a hum.

"Well, last night we got a phone call. All grass types in town that know sunny day have been requested to use it at three o'clock PM today. The hope is that the sun will shine bright and long enough to melt most of the snow."

"Why do ya' figure there's so much snow?" Jarard asked.

Skylar shrugged.

"I dunno. I saw a blue bird flying around, though. It wasn't any kind of pokémon I've seen before."

Bailey's ears perked up.

"Blue bird, during a huge snowstorm?"

"Yeah."

"Do you figure that might've been Articuno? Certainly fits the description, and would explain all the sudden snow."

Skylar's eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh! That makes sense."

Jarard glanced between the two in confusion.

"What's Articuno?"

Skylar shook her head.

"Not what, but who."

Jarard blinked in confusion.

Bailey cleared his throat. "What she means is, Articuno is a one of a kind pokémon. It is entirely unique, having none others in the same species." Everyone's eyes turned towards Bailey. "Articuno is one of the three legendary birds: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Together, they control snow, storms, and heat."

"Is that why it's snowing so much?" Jarard's eyes filled with wonder.

"Mhm! It's said that wherever Articuno is spotted, a great snowfall will soon follow. It's a very rare occurrence. Some say Arceus himself is sending Articuno to punish a community of pokémon for fighting among themselves." Bailey puffed as he finished his explanation.

"Woah! Do you think Articuno is punishing us, Bailey? Did we fight too much?"

Bailey simply shrugged.

"I don't know. I think we're fine, but maybe someone somewhere else in town are having a conflict."

* * *

Cherry curled up in fear on her bed, cringing away from the loud banging on the door.

"CHERRY, OPEN UP!" Ruby screamed. "I'LL TORCH YOUR ASS FOR BEING A TATTLETALE!" The angry fennekin bashed her paw against her sister's door relentlessly.

Cherry squealed in fear as she heard a cracking sound. She stared wide-eyed at the door as the wood began to fail under the beating. The small vulpine pokémon scrambled to her window, and desperately tried to pry it open.

"THAT'S IT, I'M BREAKING THIS DOOR DOWN ON THE COUNT OF THREE!" Ruby bellowed, laughing loudly after words.

Cherry whined, pushing harder on the window.

"ONE!"

The window didn't budge.

"TWO!"

Cherry spewed flames on the window. Maybe it was frosted shut after all. Once again, no luck.

"THREE!"

Cherry finally forced the window open, hopping out to escape the loud crash of her door breaking off it's hinges. But then, she felt her face slam into the wall below as Ruby grabbed her tail, giggling in delight. Cherry tried desperately to claw at the wall as she was dragged through the window, but her blood made the brick too slippery.

Cherry was dumped unceremoniously on the floor, and she heard the window click shut.

"You aren't going anywhere, _Cherry_ ," Ruby sneered.

Cherry began to hyperventilate, tearing up slightly.

"R-R-Ruby, please! I'm sorry!" she sniffled, curling up and cowering behind her tail.

Ruby smiled, giggling slightly.

"No you aren't. But you're about to be."

Cherry peaked out from behind her tail in fear, only for a paw to pummel her in the face.

"P-please... No..." she sobbed, crawling back up against the wall.

"That's not gonna work this time," Ruby stated in a firm tone. "I warned you. I told you if you pulled that again, I'd beat you. And I intend to make good on that." She lifted her paw once more, but yelled in pain as she felt someone claw her flank. The fennekin snapped around, coming face to face with one of her sisters.

"Leave her alone, Ruby. You're taking this too far," Scarlett warned.

Ruby sneered.

"I thought you were on my side! We're the oldest, we can't let weaklings try and assert power over us like that."

"We may be the oldest, but I can see now we've been the least mature." Scarlett glanced softly toward her cowering younger sister. "Cherry is our sister, like it or not. She's family, not your plaything. She was only defending herself. We love her, so why act so cruel?"

Ruby glared at Scarlett.

" _You_ love her. I could care less about that bit-" Ruby was cut off as Scarlett clawed her face. She roared in rage, and put her paws to the long claw marks.

"How DARE you say that?!" Scarlett hissed. "She's been nothing but loving to you! The only reason she gets us in trouble is because we act first."

Ruby growled in rage.

"You're dead. You're dead. YOU'RE DEAD!" Ruby leapt toward Scarlett, fangs bared and claws unsheathed. Scarlett took her head on. The two fennekins slammed each other around, swiping and biting with ferocity.

Ruby bit Scarlett's neck, who in return spewed flames into Ruby's face. She screamed, the flames being hot enough to badly burn the fire type. Ruby retaliated with flames of her own, and aimed to bite back down on her sister's neck.

Flames caught onto the carpet, and began to spread around the room. Cherry looked around frantically, and began to scream as the room began to fall apart around her. She screamed in fear of the flames consuming the house, and utter horror at her two siblings fighting tooth and claw to kill each other.

Crimson and Carmine burst into the room.

"What is all that-" the ninetails started before noticing the flames, and two of his children attempting to end each other's lives. The large fox roared in rage and fear. He thundered over two the three cubs, scooping them all up and hopping back over to his wife. Scarlett and Ruby continued attempting to fight, kicking and screaming and spewing stray flames all over the place.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Carmine shouted. The two stopped fighting, and looked in fear towards their mother. "STOP! JUST STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL EACH OTHER AND DESTROY THE HOUSE!"

Crimson dropped the three shivering cubs onto the floor.

"What is going on here?! One of you, explain!" The three cubs all started yelling and pointing paws all at once. Crimson shouted once more. "STOP! One at a time!" He pointed a paw towards Ruby.

Ruby looked up at her father, and started to cry.

"I-I'm sorry dad... I just came here to apologize to Cherry, but then Scarlett came in and attacked me for no reason!" she sniffled, beginning to bawl her eyes out.

Scarlett puffed up in rage.

"THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" She screamed. "Ruby was about to hurt Cherry! I tried to talk her out of it, but she said that she didn't love Cherry anymore! She tried to attack me, so I was just defending myself!"

Crimson looked over to Cherry, who was still shivering and crying.

"Cherry, who's telling the truth here?"

Cherry shuttered, melting under Ruby's intense glare. But she decided to be brave. She shot her paw towards Scarlett.

"I-it's Scarlett..." she sniffled, "She's telling the truth... Ruby was gonna hurt me..."

Crimson's eyes turned towards Ruby. She shrank back under her father's gaze.

"Ruby. I am very disappointed in you."

Carmine cleared her throat.

"Punishments and lectures can wait. The house is still on fire!" Everyone suddenly stopped focusing on the argument. The fire had spread even farther, and debris was beginning to fall from the ceiling.

Crimson's eyes widened in fear.

"You four get outside. I'll grab Burgundy," he said, and ran off down the hall. Carmine scooped up her three cubs, ran towards the front door. The walls and ceiling began to collapse around her, threatening to bury her and her spawn if she makes a wrong move.

Suddenly, one of her paws stepped on a weak board which collapsed under her weight. She tripped, and her cubs went sprawling across the floor. She screamed in agony as a large plank of wood collapsed onto her back leg.

"Go on without me!" Carmine commanded, and started to spray fire at the plank on her leg.

Scarlett, Ruby, and Cherry all screamed, running downstairs and diving out the front window.

As they made it outside, the three gazed in fear as their home burned in front of them.

Ruby cried. She broke down onto the ground, sobbing relentlessly. Scarlett ignored her, but Cherry walked over to comfort her eldest sister.

Ruby hugged Cherry, sobbing into her chest and blubbering nonsensically.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed. "I'm so so sorry! I never wanted this to happen..." she sniffled, burying her nose deeper into the other fennekin's fur. "I do love you! I do! I said I didn't, but that's a lie..." Cherry nuzzled the older fennekin's head.

"Don't worry, Ruby... I love you too." She gave her elder sister a loving smiled.

Scarlett glanced over at the two.

Ruby tried to wipe away the tears but they just kept coming.

"It's just... I don't love _myself_. I was taking all my rage out on you because... Because you're an easy target..."

Cherry nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry for not paying attention to how you felt. Trying to hurt me was an irrational response, but I can see now rationality wasn't at the forefront of your mind."

Ruby sobbed harder.

"I don't deserve an apology! It took burning a house and potentially killing my family in the process to make me realize I was wrong..." Ruby croaked. She looked over at the house, where her other family members still haven't emerged from.

The house shuttered, groaned, and collapsed in on itself with a loud crash. The three siblings all started to cry, when suddenly a large torrent of flames shot out from the rubble. Out from the flames came a badly bruised ninetails, carrying an unconscious braixen and fennekin with him. Crimson leapt over to the three cubs.

He coughed and sputtered. "T-they should be all right." Crimson gasped in surprise, as the three cubs embraced him in a hug.

"I love you all... So much..." Ruby sniffled.

"We love you too." Crimson smiled warmly, hugging the three close.

As they broke apart, the seemingly endless snowfall began to clear, and it came to a stop. As the family looked to the sky, the clouds parted and the sun shone through.

"B-but, it's not three o'clock yet?" Scarlett said hesitantly.

Crimson smiled knowingly. "No, it's not." He gazed off into the far distance, gazing contently as Articuno soared away from town.

Scarlett looked around at her family. She loved them all so much, even still when they did things she didn't like.

" _Maybe I should give Daniel and Bailey a chance. If I can love my family so much, why shouldn't I give everyone's friendship a chance?"_ Scarlett smiled, gazing off into space. It was decided: she was to stop being selfish, and try to create friendships instead of splitting them apart.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes**

 **Hey guys!**

 **Well, we're here. We're finally here. It's been a long ride, hasn't it?**

 **Finally where, you might ask?**

 **The penultimate chapter.**

 **Back around two years ago, I started writing this story in a Google Doc during my free time. I never once thought that this story would even go public, and I couldn't have possibly imagined I'd be saying those words here and now: "The penultimate chapter". It's certainly been a crazy ride, hasn't it?**

 **This story may not be the best out there, but I'm content with it. It's not amazing, but it's special. It's special because it's the first story I genuinely enjoyed writing, the first story people really enjoyed from me, and the first story I can now conclusively say is about to be finished.**

 **And I couldn't have achieved any of this without you guys. All of you.**

 **I'd like to give my biggest thank you of all to those of you who read and/or reviewed (reviews that are actually relevant to my story, not the spam). Your criticism, feedback, and opinions are priceless and mean the world to me. They are the main driving force motivating me to push forward and get this finished. I would like to thank all of you directly, but I only know the names of people who reviewed.**

 **So now, I give a huge thank you to: Ashchu, Team Riptide (formerly WarriorsIsAwesome), TheLatiKing, and TheSparklingEspeon.**

 **I'd also like to thank my fellow writer friends on Discord who have helped me be more motivated to write, and finish this story. Specifically: Laptoper321, Jordanzz, SnowLucario (they requested me put their Discord tag: SnowLucario#5443), and DragonMasterPaarthurnax.**

 **This is the last full chapter of the story. After this, there will just be an epilogue to answer any questions you still all have and show where everyone is. Now's your final chance to ask the questions you want answered, whether it be in a PM, review, or something else.**

 **Though, some of these questions might get answered in the next story instead, which I'll post the first chapter of at the same time as the epilogue.**

 **Thank you all once again. I usually keep the author's notes short, but I felt they needed to be longer this time. Now, without further ado, here's what you all came here for. Chapter 11!**

* * *

It was the first day of October. Bailey's personal favorite month, and his personal favorite season along with it.

The young flareon padded out of his home, waving goodbye to his mother who was lounging around watching television. She was laying funny and her stomach seemed a little larger than usual, which was strange considering their recent lack of food. Though, Bailey supposed it didn't matter too much. She was watching the news, which was talking about a house that had burned down during the blizzard.

"I'm heading out to see Candy. I'll be back later, mom," he called, a giddy tone in his voice.

"Have fun, dear." The leafeon nodded towards her son.

Bailey smiled cheerfully as he walked down the well worn path from his home. All the snow was finally gone, giving room for autumn to begin proper.

He hummed a jolly little tune to himself, content to just take in the scenery.

The bright green trees were beginning to lose their pigmentation, taking on new shades of yellow to red. The refreshing smell of the fall was beginning to seep in.

Though, Bailey supposed, there were more pressing matters he should be thinking about. His smile turned frown as he remembered his espeon friend who had up and disappeared after she reunited with everyone. No one had heard from Matthew in weeks. It concerned him a little bit.

Bailey's musing was interrupted as a familiar bright shape tackled him from the side.

"Hey there, Bailey!" Candy cheered in delight. "Heck of a snowstorm back there, aye?"

The flareon giggled lightly as his friend laid on top of him.

"Yeah, gnarly stuff."

Candy started giggling to.

"Who says 'gnarly' anymore?" he teased, lightly tugging on Bailey's ears.

Bailey smiled up at the fairy type.

"I do. Got an issue with that?"

"Nope!"

"Good!" Bailey kicked the sylveon off, hopping forward and tackling him playfully. Candy squealed and laughed, lightly pawing his attacker in the face.

The two rolled around a bit, exchanging light smacks before Bailey pinned the sylveon on his back.

"No fair!" Candy laughed. "You took me by surprise! I call foul play."

Bailey leaned down and smooched the fairy type's forehead.

"All is fair in love and war." Bailey gave a wry smile. "And while right now we war, I love you even more." He leaned down and nuzzled the sylveon below him.

Candy blushed.

"Aww. That's incredibly cheesy, yet incredibly sweet." Candy shuffled his paws out of Bailey's grasp, pulling the flareon on top of him into a quick kiss.

Bailey's orange face turned red, as he leaned into the sylveon's loving touch. They pulled away quickly, however, as they heard a voice from nearby them.

"What's up, loverboys?"

Bailey quietly scolded himself for forgetting that they were in public. He scolded himself further when he turned around and saw his sister.

"Sky! I- uhh..." Bailey stammered.

"Hey, Bailey!" she beamed. "I thought you said you didn't swing that way!"

The pair of eeveelutions blushed brightly in each other's embrace, embarrassed to have been caught.

"Sky... I'm sorry..." Bailey squeaked.

"Huh? What for?" Skylar hopped over and noogie'd her bro on the head.

Bailey flattened his ears back, pushing his elder sister away.

"I'm sorry that I like guys... I know it's wrong, bu-" he was interrupted as Skylar thwacked him lightly with a giggle.

"Ah, nothing wrong with that! People are very accepting of that now, so what if you like a little d-" she was cut off too as Bailey stuffed his paws in her mouth, blushing profusely. Candy looked a bit confused.

"A bit of d- what?"

Bailey grit his teeth.

"A bit of d- nuffin'," he stated matter-of-factly.

Candy simply smiled and nodded.

"Okay!"

Skylar spat out the paws in her mouth.

"Seriously bro, real talk, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Love is love, and if you love someone that's all that matters." She gave a comforting smile, leaning into nuzzle Bailey. She pulled him and Candy into a tight hug. "Between you and me, I kinda got the hots for my roomie."

Candy's ears perked up.

"That oshawott?" he questioned.

"Yeppers!"

Bailey giggled lightly.

"Of course, she seems like your type."

"I'm not a water type, doofus." Skylar laughed, playfully punching her brother's shoulder. Bailey just smiled.

"Yeah yeah, I get you. Just don't tell mom n' dad, mkay?"

"Yeah, whatever you say." And with that, Sylar hopped up and continued down the path to her original objective.

Bailey and Candy turned back to each other.

The flareon tackled his friend once more, who squealed in surprise. The two laughed as they continued to tussel, playfully fighting and rolling around in the grass.

They soon came to a rest, a bit tired out.

Candy sneezed lightly.

"Bless you!"

"Thank you..."

Bailey noticed a particularly pretty yellow flower. He plucked it with his mouth, and slid it behind his more-than-friend's large pink ear.

"For you!"

Candy looked up, going crosseyed.

"Ohh! Pretty!" He hugged Bailey tightly. "That's so sweet! Thank you..."

Bailey nuzzled the top of the sylveon's head.

"It's no problem."

Candy gently slipped his ribbon-like feelers around Bailey, pulling him closer into his embrace.

This poked a question into Bailey's mind.

"Hey, Candy... How'd you end up evolving into a sylveon?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Candy beamed. "I just love my friends and family so much that it made me evolve!" He giggled in joy, rolling onto his back and kicking at the air. "I always thought I'd become an umbreon like my dad... But now, I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Bailey grinned.

"Oh, that makes sense," he said. "I evolved into a flareon because my sister led me to a small cave with evolution stones. There were three, and I decided to choose flareon!"

"Ah, I was wondering about that!" Candy said. "Evolution stones are rare around these parts, so it was always a bit strange seeing you and your sister around in public."

"Yeah. Not as rare as leafeons, though. No one wants to go into the woods and hunt down the mossy stone."

"Nope! That place is scary..."

* * *

Scarlett huffed and puffed as she scampered up to Dan's house. She took only a moment to catch her breath, before knocking on the door.

A sawk cracked the door open. He looked back and forth in confusion, before looking down and stepping back in shock.

"'Scar! What are you doing here?"

Scarlett smiled up at him.

"Hello, Daniel. I came to apologize for my past actions."

"What?" The sawk scratched his head in confusion.

"I haven't been quite fair to you. I've always been so full of myself that I've never given your friendship a chance. Every moment I think about it now is filled with regret, and I'd appreciate if you would allow me to try to mend things over."

Dan gave a bright, goofy smile. Scarlett smiled back, at his cute goofy face.

"Ah! No hard feelings, 'Scar!" He picked up the small fox pokémon and gave her a squishy hug.

Scarlett whined and tried to push away at first, but sighed and gave in.

"You're crushing my rib cage, big fella..." she muttered.

"Oh! Sorry..." The sawk quickly dropped the fennekin, who landed squarely on her rump.

"Hey, careful with the dropping!"

"Sorry!"

Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"Please, just be more gentle with you affection in the future."

Dan gave a salute.

"Yes ma'am!" He knelt down and gently started petting the fire type. Scarlett blushed slightly, but didn't protest. She lightly rubbed against his leg. Dan soon asked, "Do you wanna come inside?"

"I'd love to."

The fighting type led his fennekin friend into his home, who jumped onto the old leather couch.

"Cozy," she commented, lightly sinking into the furniture.

"I know, right?"

The fennekin lounged on the sofa, pondering her past actions.

"Daniel?"

"Hmm?"

"Why have you stuck around all these years even when I was rude to you?"

The sawk shrugged.

"I dunno. You just seemed cool I guess."

"Interesting." Scarlett rested her head in her paws, eyeing the sawk who was sitting down to rest on the floor.

"So, what made you change your mind about me?"

Scarlett shifted in her seat.

"Well, some family issues came up and it made me realize how important friendship is."

Dan cocked an eyebrow.

"Family issues? Care to elaborate?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay, 'Scar!"

The two sat in silence for a bit before Scarlett spoke up.

"So, Daniel. I'm gonna head into town to meet up with some friends. Care to tag along?"

"Boy, would I? Yes!" The fighting type grinned brightly.

Scarlett hopped up and made for the door, Dan following close behind.

The fire-type's legs soon began to ache again, however, still now fully recovered from the run over. Dan took notice.

"Hey, you okay there? Here, I'll carry you. Just tell me where we're going."

"No, that's quite alri-" Scarlett started, but trailed into a squeak as the fighting type scooped her up. She sighed in defeat. "The park."

Dan smiled brightly.

"Great, let's go!" And with that, he took off running in the park's direction.

"Ah! Slow down!" Scarlett commanded, holding her tail close to prevent it from trailing behind.

"How come? You aren't scared, are ya'?"

"What? Of course not! It's just awkward.""

"Whatever you say, 'Scar." The sawk slowed his sprint to a brisk jog.

Scarlett sighed in relief.

"Thank you."

"No problem!"

The fennekin relaxed in the sawk's arms. Soon enough, the park came into view. Dan came running through the entrance.

"Over there," Scarlett directed with a point. Dan turned in that direction, running towards a sylveon and flareon who were tussling together. Scarlett hopped out of Dan's arms, and landed beside them. The sawk soon caught up.

Candy was the first to notice the new arrival. His ears perked up, and he grinned brightly.

"Oh, hey Scarlett! Hey Dan!"

Bailey waved at them.

"Hello, Dan. And hello uh... Scarlett, was it? I don't think we've met."

Dan gave a bow, and Scarlett simply waved.

"Hello Candy. May I talk to your friend for a bit?"

Candy and Bailey looked at each other and nodded. The flareon stepped forward.

"What's up?" he said, tilting his head slightly.

Scarlett cleared her throat.

"I am very sorry for avoiding you in the past, and being jealous of you and Candy's friendship. I would like to start over, and maybe be friends?" She offered a paw.

Bailey shook it.

"Yeah! Always great to have a new friend."

Candy smiled brightly.

"Oh, I'm so glad that we're all friends now!" he exclaimed. "Oh, and Scarlett?"

"Mhm?"

"Bailey's my boyfriend now!"

Bailey blushed at the comment, but nodded.

"Is that so?" Scarlett cocked an eyebrow, scanning the flareon. He seemed a little underweight, scruffy looking and not very clean. She then turned her eyes back to Candy. His pristine white coat seemed to glow in the sunlight, and while he was slightly chubby he still had well defined muscles. The fennekin shrugged. "Wouldn't be my first choice. But I'm happy for you, nonetheless."

Bailey shrugged off the indirect insult and smiled.

Candy bounded over and tackled the two into a hug. He reached out and grabbed Dan with one of his ribbon-like feelers, pulling the sawk into the hug as well.

"Oh, I'm so happy we're all friends now!"

Bailey nodded.

"Yeah yeah, friendship stuff. I'm starving, let's all head back to my place for food."

Everyone nodded along. The group of four got up and began marching towards Bailey's house.

* * *

Matthew was frowning to herself. The espeon was in full concentration, slowly levitating large stones in a circle around her. This piece was interrupted as there was a loud crash outside which ruined her focus.

She frowned in anger as the stones slipped out of her grip. She groaned loudly in frustration, picking up a nearby rock with her paw and launching it at the wall. It shattered upon impact.

"Arceus damn it!" she growled. She picked up another rock, launching it at the wall. "I'm just not cut out to be an espeon, am I?!" she shouted to herself. She choked back a sob.

How could her concentration have been broken so easily? Psychics were supposed to be strong willed, and strong minded.

"Perhaps you're looking at it the wrong way." Matthew looked up in alarm upon hearing the foreign, raspy voice echoing around the small cave she was in.

"W-who's that? Who's there?!" She demanded, stamping a paw forward warningly.

An old, frail bibarel came crawling down into the cave with her. It gave a sincere smile upon seeing the young espeon.

"Do not fret, young espeon," he soothed. "I pose no threat."

Matthew sighed in relief, lowering her guard slightly. Slightly, not completely.

"I see. Who are you, and what do you want?"

The bibarel laughed and gave the espeon a bright smile.

"I could ask you the same thing!" he laughed a bit more, but was cut off by a small coughing fit. "I'm Charlie, and this cave here is my home we're standing."

Matthew's pupils shrank, and she blushed a bit.

"O-oh! I'm sorry sir, I didn't know. Honest!" She quickly made to leave, but was confused when the old beaver blocked her path.

"Not so fast, young one," he said. "I've introduced myself, now who are you?"

Matthew looked around, but relented with a sigh.

"I'm Matthew. Most people just call me Matt, though."

Charlie smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He nodded his head toward the middle of the room. "Have a seat, young Matthew. You are troubled, and I may be of assistance."

Matthew sighed again. A habit now, perhaps. She padded over to the center of the room and sat down. Charlie hobbled over and sat in front of her.

"Go on. Tell me what troubles you," he requested.

"Well, I just don't feel like I was supposed to be an espeon," she started.

"Why is that? You seem very skilled in the psychic arts."

"Well yeah, but I always lose my concentration so easy!" she complained. "A psychic type is supposed to be able to keep calm under pressure, but I'm not!" she yelled.

Charlie hummed to himself.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it _is_ so!" she glared at the old man in front of her. "I can't sit still for long! I can't focus on one thing for minutes, it's so boring! But I have to! I'm an espeon, it's what we do! I have to sit still, and I have to focus, because I'm an espeon! Just because I evolved into a stupid espeon! Now that I've gone and done that, I can't go back! This is my life now and I have to deal with it!"

Charlie smiled and chuckled to himself.

"It sounds like you crave adventure, young lass."

Matthew puffed up in anger.

"Yes, I do! But I can't adventure because I'm an espeon! I have to sit in a cave and practice all day just because my parents won't accept me until I'm a _real_ psychic type! You say that you're trying to help me learn to focus, but you're just laughing at me!"

Charlie laughed harder.

"Ah, that's where you're wrong," he started. "I'm not here to help you learn to focus. In fact, maybe you shouldn't."

Matthew cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you crave adventure! So go out there, and experience adventure. Being an espeon doesn't narrow your options as you perceive, but rather expands them even further!" he explained. "Just because people tell you that you have to sit there and think all day doesn't mean you have to. There's no rule that you can't go out and have fun, exploring the world! You're an espeon, and a very powerful one from what I can tell! Don't let people tell you that you can't, because you can! If they don't want you to do what makes you happy, their opinions aren't worth your time."

Matthew blinked.

"I-is that true? Can I do that?"

Charlie laughed more.

"Yes, yes! Of course, Matthew! Don't be a slave to your parents wishes, go out and have the adventure you crave! Explore the world, go meet new people and see new places!"

Matthew grinned ear to ear.

"Yeah! Yeah, I can do that! I'm a powerful espeon with my whole life ahead of me, I can go see and do what I want!" She began to cry happily. "Thank you, Charlie! I will explore the world!" the espeon hugged the old bibarel in joy. He smiled too, hugging her back.

"It's no problem, young lass. I'm happy to help." He stared off at nothing, a content smile on his face. "Let me tell you, young Matthew, I used to sail all over the world on my beloved ship. Those were the best days of my life, and I can tell you that every second you spend out there will be worth it for the memories alone..." Charlie had a nostalgic smile. "Ah... What I'd give to be young again. But I'm too old, I can't sail on my own anymore... So I'm afraid I can't feel the bliss of sailing at ever sea again..." His smile faltered slightly, but only for a second.

Matthew gave a bright smile.

"Oh, Charles... Don't say that!" she laughed joyously. "What did you just tell me not a moment ago? Don't let people tell you you can't go see the world just because you're old! If that's what you want to do, what's to stop you?"

Charlie let his smile drop finally, and he sighed.

"I'm just too old and weak. If something happens to me out there, I won't be able to take care of myself. The rest of my crew have either settled down, or left this world long ago now... I'm just a captain without a crew."

Matthew's smile grew wider.

"Come on Charlie... Let's go see your ship! We'll gather a new crew, and we'll travel around the world together! You've helped me see my error, now let me help you by letting you experience what you've longed for a long time!"

Charlie's eyes began to tear up. The old man looked truly touched.

"Really, young Matthew? You'd do that for me...?" he had a far off look in his eyes, and a touched smile.

"Aye aye, captain!" Matthew saluted with a wink.

The bibarel's tears flowed freely.

"Thank you, Matthew... This truly means a lot to me... Thank you, for giving this old man an opportunity to see the world again."

"It's the least I can do!"

Charlie wiped a tear away.

"But I'm afraid, there's still one more issue young lass."

"What'd that be?"

"Finance. It costs a lot of money to sail around the globe. Lots of food, and clean drinks are imperative to our survival."

Matthew visibly deflated.

"Oh..."

Charlie smiled wide.

"Don't worry, Matty." Matthew looked up.

"Matty? I kinda like that. Can you call me that from now on?"

Charlie nodded.

"Yes. But as I said, do not fret. It should only take but three years to save up the money for our voyage!"

Matthew stepped back in shock.

"Three years?!"

Charlie laughed.

"Yes, yes. I know it sounds hard, but it will go by fast. Trust me! And don't worry about me, I'm sure I got at least a decade left in me!" The bibarel laughed heartily. Matthew couldn't help but laugh along.

"I suppose you're right! But, I don't know where I'll stay. My parents disowned me because I can't properly use my psychic powers..."

"Ah, don't fret, Matty. You can stay with me, if you fancy."

"Really?! Oh, thank you Charlie! You're truly amazing!" She gave the old man a long hug. He returned it gratefully.

"Of course! If we're gonna be ship mates in the future, we may as well take the time to get used to each other."

Matthew nodded.

"That's fair! Thank you for everything, Charlie. I'm gonna go tell my friends where I've been, and where you and I will be in a few years!"

"Be safe."

"I will!"

And with that, the young espeon bounded out of the small cave and quickly pranced back toward town.

* * *

Joy layed on the ground, panting and sweating. Her rear was hurting from the strain of her muscles, but she ignored the pain and weakly called out.

"J-Jaunty! The egg came out!" she squealed, in a mixture of pain and happiness. The leafeon mother curled around the egg that she had made the other night with Jaunty.

The umbreon in question came bounding into the room, a joyous smile plastered on his mug.

"Honey, that's wonderful!" He lovingly nuzzled the leafeon on the ground, who gladly returned it.

The two looked down at the small egg in Joy's grasp. Jaunty snuggled up against it, smiling like a goof.

"Oh, Joy... Do you really think we'll be able to take care of four?"

Joy smiled, and poked her husband's cheek.

"Three. Skylar's been on her own for years, remember?"

"Ah, yes! I suppose she has. My, it feels like just yesterday that she was a tiny little eevee seeing the world for the first time..."

Joy smooched his cheek.

"Time really flies, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does."

Suddenly, the front door burst open and the two toward the doorway.

Bailey was the first to come bounding in.

"Mom, dad, I brought frie- hey, what's that?" Joy and Jaunty moved out of the way, as Bailey padded over to investigate leaving his friends outside. His face lit up in surprise. "An egg?!"

Joy laughed.

"Yes, an egg. Little Jarard isn't going to be the youngest much longer."

The sleeping eevee on the couch twitched at the mention of his name, peeling an eye open. He hopped up, wandering over to the egg and sniffing it curiously.

"What's this?"

Bailey grinned.

"That's an egg, Jarard! It has an eevee inside it!"

Jarard looked up in shock.

"What?! What's it doing in there?!" he looked scared, staring at the egg.

Jaunty laughed heartily.

"It's not done developing. When it finishes, you're gonna be a big bro like Bailey here." He wrapped one of his jet black paws around his eldest son, who was smiling brightly.

"Woah, cool!" Jarard bounced around happily.

Joy cleared her throat.

"I think Bailey's friends are waiting to be let in."

Everyone glanced towards the door. A fennekin, sawk, and sylveon stood there awkwardly. Bailey beckoned them forward, and they entered.

"Well, mom needs rest. I'll make lunch," Bailey explained, to everyone's agreement.

He walked into the kitchen, and began preparing sandwiches for everyone.

* * *

"Work it, tubby! Move those legs!"

"But Skylar, I'm tired! And it hurts!" Audrey complained. The oshawott was sweating profusely, beating her stubby legs against the treadmill as fast as she could.

"That's good! That means it's working!" Skylar tied a red bandanna around the water-type's head to help soak up some of the sweat. Suddenly, she heard a ringing from the table. "Hold on Audrey, I gotta take this."

Audrey groaned loudly. Skylar took the complaint as confirmation.

Skylar's eyes lit up in surprise.

"Yeah, okay I'll be there soon." She hung up the phone. "Yeah Audrey, I gotta go. You just keep running."

"What, why?!"

"Family business."

"What family bu-" she started, but she groaned as she looked over and saw that the jolteon had already taken off.

Skylar pumped her legs as quick as she could as soon as she got out the door.

Her thoughts were racing.

" _What's so important? Is something wrong? Did I forget something?"_

This pondering was soon set aside as she approached her family's residence. She had made it there very quick; high speeds were one of the many perks of being a jolteon.

She slowed to a trot, and slowly pushed through the door. Joy was still laying on the floor with Jaunty, and the egg.

"Hey there, Sky," Jaunty said with a wave.

"Hey! Is that an egg?"

Joy nodded. Skylar gave a wry smile in return.

"Ahah. That explains why the floorboards were creaking so much a few nights ago.

The umbreon-leafeon duo blushed, and Joy nodded once again.

Skylar looked around, seeing Candy, Dan, and Scarlett all lounging around.

"Sup, Candy. Sup, other dudes." She walked over to the couch and hopped onto it. She gently pet Jarard, who had fallen back asleep. "I'm Skylar, Bailey's sister."

The sawk and fennekin smiled and nodded.

"Charmed to make your acquaintance," Scarlett said with a nod.

Suddenly, everyone's head turned as they heard thumping and panting coming from the doorway. An oshawott and espeon came running up.

"Skylar! Do not run off like that without talking to me thoroughly! We've been over this!" Audrey complained.

Skylar grinned.

"Why'd you bring Matt along?"

"I just found her along the way. She was looking to talk to Bailey anyway, so I let her tag along."

Matthew nodded.

Candy hopped up, running over and hugging the espeon.

"Oh, Matt! Where have you been, we missed you!"

Mathew hugged him back.

"Ah, hello Candy! I'll explain."

"Uhh." Everyone turned their head at the noise. Bailey was standing in the entrance to the kitchen. "Good thing I made extra, wasn't expecting three more people to show up."

Skylar waved.

"Hey little bro!"

"Hey sis, hey Audrey, and... Oh, Matt! Where have you been?"

Matthew cleared her throat.

"My parents disowned me. I have trouble focusing, so I can't use my psychic abilities as well as I should be able to. I was practicing in a cave, when I met a kind old barbarel. He advised that I follow my heart, and explore the world! The two of us are going to sail around the world in three years, and will likely pick up more crew members."

Everyone had varying degrees of shock on their face.

"Well, whatever makes you happy, Matt. I support your choice." Bailey gave a smile. Everyone else agreed.

"I'm glad you do, guys." Everyone made for a group hug. Jarard had awoken once more, and hopped into the middle.

Everyone soon began eating their lunch, laughing and chatting as they ate.

* * *

Lunch had been finished around a half an hour prior. Bailey and Candy were chilling out in the former's room, hugging and nuzzling each other.

"Oh, Bailey... You make me so happy!"

"You make me happy too, Candy." Bailey smiled, nuzzling the sylveon's nose.

The two rolled around together for a while, laughing and giggling.

"Everyone downstairs seems distracted. We probably have a while before anyone comes to check on us," Candy proposed.

Bailey stuck his tongue out with a wink.

"Suppose we do. What do you wanna do?"

"I brought grape soda!"

The sylveon launched two cans into the air.

"Woah- Candy! Be careful!" Bailey stood on his hind legs, frantically grasping at one of the cans.

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot you don't have this," Candy replied as he caught a can in his ribbon.

"It's fine."

"Mh..."

The two lovers cracked their drinks open, lightly sipping at them.

"I love you, Candy," the flareon muttered, blushing heavily and shifting around in place.

"Aww, I love you too!" Candy pulled the flareon into a hug. They nuzzled each other, and Bailey leaned over for a kiss. Soon their lips made contact.

Bailey's bedroom door opened.

"Hey Bailey, I- uhh...?"

The two quickly pulled away, blushing furiously and looking towards the door. Jaunty stood there looking confused. He quickly put on a smile.

"Ah, I didn't know you two were together! Oh, Joy will be so proud that you found a mate, Bailey!"

Bailey tilted his head, still blushing.

"You're not mad?"

Jaunty laughed.

"Of course not! Why would I be?"

Joy came weakly walking up the stairs and approached the doorway.

"Jaunty, what's taking so long?"

"Oh, nothing. I only walked in on Bailey and Candy while they were face sucking."

Joy and the two pokémon in question blushed heavily.

"What?!"

Bailey sighed, stepping forward. He put on a brave face.

"Mom, dad. Candy and I are in a relationship."

Joy smiled at the two.

"Ah! To be young and in love! I'm so happy for you two!" The leafeon looked toward Candy. "You treat my son right, mkay?"

"Aye aye, ma'am!"

Candy pulled Bailey back from behind, surprising him and planting a kiss on the flareon's forehead. Jaunty and Joy walked over to the two, pulling them into a hug.

Bailey sighed in content. He stared off into space, reflecting on the events of the last month.

" _Man... When I first trudged into school this year, I never thought that I'd end up in love, surrounded by a bunch of new friends, and have another addition to the family on the way! It's wild how this was all sparked just from some sylveon I didn't know being friendly. But I wouldn't have it any other way._

" _I've never been happier in my life. I love my friends, I love my family, and I love Candy! I don't know where my life will take me from here, but I know wherever it is I'm confident and ready to face it!"_ He smiled brighter than he ever had, giggling to himself and staring off into space. " _I'm ready for anything now. I feel like I can for once face anything life throws at me. Give me your best shot, Arceus!"_


	12. Epilogue

**Author's Notes**

 **The final author's notes. Thanks for reading this far, everyone! For starters, I'd like to apologize a bit. I had a change of plans.**

 **I said that I would upload the first chapter of another story in the same universe as this one at the same time as the epilogue, but I changed my mind. Sometimes I kinda just get sick of writing the same the same characters, in the same setting, in the same plot over and over again, you know?**

 **I wanna try something different, and I have some new ideas I wanna try. I'll still be starting a new story soon (be on the lookout if you care), just not the one promised. I'll still be doing the story, just later than I had initially planned. And the new stories won't be posted as soon as this chapter is. Likely in a few days instead.**

 **Sorry if I got your hopes up, but I'm a bit tired of this setting and characters. I hope I can make up for it with my new story, though! If you decide to read it, that is. Perfectly fine if you jump off here. If that's the case, thank you for reading to this point, and I hope you enjoyed. If not, then still thank you, but also see you next story!**

 **And by new story, I actually mean two new stories.**

 **The first one I should mention will be called "Foreign Beast". It will be another pokémon fanfiction, just not in the 'Golden Watch' Universe.**

 **The second will actually be a Metroid fan fiction. Might be a bit surprising since I've only written pokémon stuff here (three stories, two of which are deleted), but I hope I'll do a good job nonetheless. This story will be called "Chozo Unknown".**

 **I'll be updated these both simultaneously. But not just those two, the story I had previously promised you all will likely be out sooner rather than later.**

 **So the name of the third story that will be in the same universe as this one? The names of the first two stories don't tell much about the plot, but the name for this one will be more clear since it's directly related to this story. "The Psychic Sailor".**

 **Once again, I'm really sorry for delaying that third one. I hope you aren't all mad at me...**

 **Okay, rambling done!**

 **It's time to thank the reviewers one last time. Here is everyone who has left a review (related to the story itself): SparklingEspeon, AshChu, TheLatiKing, TeamRiptide, and LilCutie.**

 **Without further ado: let's-a go!**

* * *

 **Epilogue: Two Months Later**

It was a chilly December morning. Not chilly to our fire type protagonist of course, but chilly to everyone else.

Bailey hopped out of bed giddily, checking his alarm clock. It was eight o'clock AM, give or take.

He looked out his window. It was snowing, of course. He wasn't bothered by the cold temperature, but he knew that there were two pokémon living in the house who would be. Bailey smiled to himself, knowing a specific one of the two was going to burst through his door at any moment.

Sure enough, Bailey's door burst open, revealing a small eevee.

"Bailey!" the eevee called. "It's Christmas but mom and dad won't get up! Help me out here!"

Bailey chuckled.

"Yeah I'll be out in a minute, Jarard. Just lemme get ready."

"Mkay!" the young eevee scampered out of the room, and back over to the door of his parents' room.

He stared out the window with a nostalgic smile on his face.

Bailey's family had a Christmas tradition that they practiced every year. Everyone got one present, which the whole family (besides them of course) decided on and got for them. This year, Candy and his mom would join them for Christmas and take part in the tradition.

But they wouldn't be arriving for around another half hour, around when Bailey's parents would be waking up. Or, when they planned to anyway.

Bailey yawned and stretched, waltzing out of his room and over to his parents', where his younger brother was waiting.

The two looked at each other, a moment of understanding. They nodded, and slowly creaked the wooden door open.

Joy and Jaunty lay in bed, sharing a warm embrace. The umbreon had his chin resting above his grass-type lovers soft head.

The two children crept forward, careful not to make a sound. They lowered to the ground, prepared to pounce, and leapt forward onto their parents' bed.

"Mom! Dad! Get up, it's Christmas!" the two cried in unison.

Jaunty and Joy jumped up with a jolt. Jaunty took a sharp breath in, and Joy squealed.

Jaunty laughed, and Joy shot a death glare at her two children. The leafeon fussed with her disheveled head plant, a sour look clear in her tired brown eyes.

"Bailey, Jarard?" she asked.

"Yes mom?" Bailey replied.

" _Why_?"

The two siblings shuffled awkwardly in place, and Jaunty only laughed harder. Joy couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Well, honey, we're already awake. We may as well get up," he suggested.

"Fine," Joy relented, "but you're making me coffee."

"Yes, ma'am! Come on kids, let's go down stairs and wait for everyone else to arrive."

Jarard squealed in excitement, diving off the bed and galloping down stairs. Bailey laughed joyously, soon chasing after his brother.

The two lovers left in the room giggled to themselves, catching each other's eye.

"Kids will be kids?" Jaunty offered.

"I suppose so. Were we like that?"

"I'm sure we were worse."

The two laughed, sharing a quick kiss before following their children downstairs at a slower pace.

* * *

Most of the gifts were already under the tree. The only ones missing were for Bailey's aunt and uncle who were coming over, and the one for Skylar.

" _Though, I suppose there isn't one for a certain member that will soon join us,"_ Bailey thought with a smile. He looked over to the fireplace, where there was a small egg wrapped in a blanket. The flareon walked over and nuzzled the egg, which bounced a little in response.

"Hey there, little guy!" he said, patting the egg gently.

Joy smiled to herself, regarding her eldest son with some interest. She snuggled up closer to Jaunty for warmth, who gladly accepted it. She watched Jarard prance around the room, excitedly chasing his big fluffy tail.

Soon, a knock came at the door. Bailey walked over to answer it. As soon as he did, he was tackled by another flareon. The two rolled around on the ground tussling for a bit, before eventually Bailey got pinned.

"Hey there, Bailey!" the slightly smaller flareon cheered.

"Vivian! Glad you guys could make it without trouble," he replied happily. Soon enough, they realized they were blocking the entrance, so they moved aside to let the other two guests in as well.

"Aunt Merry! Uncle Jolly!" Jarard cheered happily, wagging his tail cheerily upon seeing the two glaceon.

Merry knelt down and caught the eevee who had hopped towards her for a hug. She jerked her head away from a stray paw, as the play fight between her child and nephew continued.

"Hey there, kiddo! Happy to see you too."

Jaunty walked over to them, a bright grin plastered on his face.

"Merry, big bro! Glad you could make it!"

Merry was too busy focusing on playing with Jarard and only nodded in response. Jolly smiled brightly, hugging his younger brother tightly.

"Hey there, Jaunty! It's been a while! I brought beer."

"Ah, you're the best!"

Everyone's activities temporarily halted as Joy cleared her throat from the couch.

"I'm happy that you're all e-enjoying your reunion, b-b-but could you _please_ shut the door?" the leafeon was shivering, and lightly sneezed into her coffee.

" _Gross,"_ Bailey thought about saying, but opted not to.

"You wouldn't shut the door on me, would ya'?" came a raspy voice.

Everyone turned to the door, where Skylar was standing with a smirk. Audrey was there with her, looking slightly awkward.

Bailey leapt up, accidentally pushing off from Vivian's face as he rocketed into his sister's embrace.

"Hey Sky!"

"Hey there, little bro!"

The jolteon shook the snow off herself, walking inside and shutting the door, two presents in had.

Bailey and Vivian soon reunited, gossiping and catching up with what had happened since they'd last met. They were fighting each other in the process, of course. Jarard joined into the fight, turning it into a free-for-all.

Merry and Joy were loudly squealing and gushing about the egg, Merry giving congratulations and Joy relaying her excitement.

Jolly, Jaunty, and Skylar were chatting and loudly telling jokes, each of them with a beer in paw.

It continued like this for a while, until another knock came.

Bailey once more ran to the door, this time pulling it open to reveal Candy and August.

Merry squealed in delight, running over and pinching the young sylveon's chubby cheeks.

"Oh, who's this little cutie?!" she exclaimed.

"This is my friend Candy. Well, we're more than friends actually..." Bailey explained.

Merry squealed.

"Oh! That's so cute! Bailey, you're growing up so fast! Ah, young love..." she released Candy's cheeks, who quickly retreated inside with an awkward smile. August chuckled lightly, following close after. Merry closed the door.

August soon squealed in delight when she saw the egg, running over and gushing over it as well. Merry soon followed. Candy placed the gift he was carrying under the tree.

After a bit, the talking and play fighting died down, and Joy spoke up.

"Well, now that everyone's here we should open the presents."

Jarard's ears perked up.

"Oh, me first!"

Everyone gathered around the tree. Jarard bounded over to the box with his name on it. Everyone else gave each other a knowing glance.

He tore the box open, and dumped the contents onto the floor. The young eevee gasped when he saw what it was.

It was a sparkling, deep blue stone that gave off an other worldly energy.

"Oh my gosh! A water stone!" the eevee exclaimed. He quickly placed his paw on the stone, feeling the unfamiliar energy course through him. Soon after, the room was filled with a bright white light as the young eevee began to evolve.

When the light cleared, the vaporeon flexed his new large blue paw, and batted at his large fish tail. He whooped, and began to chase the large tail.

Everyone smiled at the young vaporeon's actions.

"Merry, Jolly, I think you two should go next," Joy said. They nodded, and pulled their gift over. They had been given a shared gift. They lightly slit their claws along the wrapping paper, and carefully opened it up.

There were an assortment of very expensive looking wine inside. The two looked very excited.

"Oh, thank you so much! You all really shouldn't have..." Merry exclaimed happily.

" _Of course,"_ Bailey thought, " _Aunt Merry really likes the taste of wine, and uncle Jolly will drink anything with alcohol in it."_

Bailey smiled, and then nudged a box toward Candy.

"You next, buddy."

The sylveon carefully unwrapped the box, and pulled out a large box of candles. He squealed.

"Ohh! Are they the smelly ones?!"

August nodded.

"Yes, they're the smelly ones."

"Thank you all so much!" he cried.

Vivian soon piped up, unable to contain her excitement.

"Me next!" the flareon cried, tearing into her wrapping paper. It was a large gift, clearly the largest there. She pulled out a large punching bag.

"Oh! Neat!" she said. She began to attack and scratch at it, despite it not being hung up yet.

Jolly rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Jaunty, Joy, I believe you two will like your gifts a lot."

The two looked at each other smiling, of course already knowing what the other had gotten.

Joy unwrapped her gift first, which was a novel she had wanted for a while.

"Oh, thank you everyone!"

Jaunty went second. He opened his gift, to find a pack of fireworks.

Joy looked on in horror.

"What?! I thought we agreed that we would _not_ get him fireworks! It was supposed to be the book!"

Everyone chuckled, to Joy's dismay.

"Ah, it seems luck is on my side! Anyhow, Skylar you should go next," Jaunty suggested.

The jolteon in question pulled open her gift. It was a stack of papers.

"Huh? Papers?" she questioned.

"Read what they are!" Audrey commanded.

So she did.

"What? These are all coupons for free treadmills!" she smiled, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. "Oh, you all know me too well." she then looked to Audrey. "Why don't you open yours, then?"

The oshawott had trouble unwrapping the gift due to her stubby arms. When she finally did (with Skylar's assistance), she blushed furiously and shut the box.

"SKYLAR! That's inappropriate!"

Skylar laughed, and everyone else looked confused.

"What's so inappropriate without flowers?" Joy questioned with a tilt of her head.

"WHAT?! Flowers?! Is that what she told you?!" Audrey interrogated.

Skylar chuckled.

"Well, it sure does involve 'flowers'." She received a smack from her brightly blushing oshawott friend.

"Mom should open hers!" Candy interjected, trying to change the subject.

Everyone turned toward August, who nodded. The young eevee opened her box carefully.

"Oh, my! How'd you know I wanted this mug?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"You weren't exactly _subtle_ about it, mom," Candy deadpanned.

Joy looked over to Bailey.

"I see you've been eyeing yours a lot. Dying to open it?" she questioned. Bailey nodded. "Go ahead, dear."

Bailey tore the wrapping paper to shreds. Inside was a new, shiny, and luxuriously crafted golden watch.

"Woah! It's just like my other one! Except for shiny, new, and not all beat up and scratched!" the flareon slipped it onto his wrist.

Candy smiled brightly.

"We snuck it out of your room and got it touched up by a professional." He leaned over and kissed Bailey's cheek, who brushed brightly from it.

Jarard soon collapsed, tired from chasing his tail.

"Welp, I suppose someone has to say it. Merry Christmas, everyone!" Jaunty exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas!" everyone else chorused. The large family embraced each other in a warm, quiet hug. Soon, the silence was broken by a cracking sound. Then another. Everyone looked wide eyed over to the fireplace.

"The egg!" Joy cried, rushing over. Jaunty soon followed, and then everyone else crowded around it.

The egg shook, and wobbled. It began to crack, the fractures slowly spreading across the thick membrane. The silence was tense. Soon parts of the shell were being pushed out of place.

Finally, the top half was completely cracked off. A tiny, silver eevee cub came tumbling out. The light from the fireplace made it's fur glint brightly, as the helpless cub reached out.

Joy scooped up the cub, embracing it tight. Jaunty joined in. The small silver cub began to purr, enjoying the loving embrace of it's two parents.

While everyone was very pleased with what they had gotten that Christmas, the best gift everyone in the household had been given was the gift of new life.

 **The End.**


End file.
